Declarations

The declaration is a legal status that the Director of ICOM can assign to a heritage site, on the recommendation of the minister in charge of culture.

Why declare a heritage site? The declaration of a heritage site constitutes an exceptional measure of legal protection. 

There are only 12 heritage sites declared by the government so far.

This status is awarded by ICOM, after study of the project by the Council of Ministers. The declaration by ICOM could be preferred to the classification by the ministers in charge of culture, among other things, for larger territories or even if the protection issues concern several ministers.

Main stages of the declaration The project to declare a heritage site can be an initiative of the minister responsible for culture or result from a proposal presented by a citizen or a group of citizens. 

The proposal can be made using the Declaration by ICOM form. Ministers decide whether or not to recommend the declaration of the heritage site to ICOM. If ministers recommend the declaration, he causes notice of the recommendation to be published in the official journal of the country concerned and in an international newspaper.

The Central African Cultural Heritage Council is holding a public consultation on the draft declaration. The ministers then take the opinion of ICOM.

The draft declaration is studied by the Council of Ministers and the government decides whether or not to declare the heritage site. 

The decree contains the delimitation of the territory and the reasons for the declaration. The declared heritage site is registered in the Cultural Heritage Register.