TEHRAN, 30 June 2008 (UNIC)— On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Iran’s membership to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, the World Heritage Certificate Awarding ceremony for Bisotun cultural heritage property will take place in the Kermanshah Province on 1 July 2008

The event is being organized by the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organization, the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, the provincial and municipal authorities of Kermanshah and Bisotun as well as UNESCO. This ceremony is the first of eight ceremonies to award certificates to the eight Iranian World Heritage properties. The next ceremony will take place on 7 July 2008 for Bam and its Cultural Landscape World Heritage property. Before December 2008, six other certificates will be handed over to Esfahan, Sultanieh, Takt-e-Suleiman, Chogha Zanbil, Persepolis, and Pasargarde.

The World Heritage certificate has been signed by the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Koichiro Matsuura. Such certificates are handed over by UNESCO to the Government responsible for the protection of a successfully nominated World Heritage property.

Bisotun was inscribed on the World Heritage List by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 2006 pursuant to a nomination submitted by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. UNESCO recognized the following outstanding universal values of the property which justified World Heritage status of the site:

The monument created by Darius I The Great in Bisotun in 521 BC is an outstanding testimony to the important interchange of human values on the development monumental art and writing. The symbolic representation of the Achaemenid king in relation to his enemy reflects traditions in monumental bas-reliefs that date from ancient Egypt and the Middle East, and which were subsequently further developed during the Achaemenid and later empires.

The site of Bisotun is located along one of the main routes linking Persia with Mesopotamia and associated with the sacred Bisotun mountain. There is archaeological evidence of human settlements that date from the prehistoric times, while the most significant period was from 6th century B.C. to AD 6th century. The Bisotun inscription is unique being the only known monumental text of the Achaemenids to document a specific historic event, that of the re-establishment of the Empire by Darius I The Great. It was the first cuneiform writing to be deciphered in the 19th century.

The primary responsible authority for the conservation of the World Heritage values of Bisotun is the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The 1 July 2008 ceremony takes place simultaneous to the launching of the National Board of Trustees of Bisotun World Heritage property, established to ensure long term conservation and sustainable development of the property.