Who ownes the United Nations World Heritage Sites?

Question

I understand it was a treaty signed by our government (States Parties), but does this treaty mean that the UN ownes most if not all of our National Parks, Independence Hall and Statue of Liberty as well as most of the other places of intertest all over the world?

Answer 1

the U.S. out of the U.N., and the U.N. out of the U.S.

Answer 2

They still belong to the countries at where the sites are situated. By signing the World Heritage Convention, countries recognize that the sites located on their national territory which have been inscribed on the World Heritage List, without prejudice to national sovereignty or ownership, constitute a world heritage "for whose protection it is the duty of the international community as a whole to cooperate."

By signing the Convention, each country pledges to conserve not only the World Heritage sites situated on its territory, but also to protect its national heritage whether or not it is in placed on the World Heritage List.

Without the support of other countries, some sites with recognized cultural or natural value would deteriorate or, worse, disappear, often through lack of funding to preserve them. The Convention is thus an agreement, signed to date by 149 countries, to contribute the necessary financial and intellectual resources to protect World Heritage sites.

Sites selected for World Heritage listing are approved on the basis of their merits as the best possible examples of the cultural and natural heritage. The World Heritage List draws attention to the wealth and diversity of the earth's cultural and natural heritage.

World Heritage sites have been internationally recognized for their outstanding value and are protected by the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention, signed by 183 countries. There are currently 851 designated World Heritage sites that span 138 countries and offer an extraordinary range of travel experiences.