The committee comprises 21 UNESCO-member nations and the decision was made at the organization's 40th session, which is being held in Istanbul from July 10-20.

This is now the third cultural monument in BiH to find itself on the UNESCO List. Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge and the Old Bridge in Mostar have already been included.

In November 2009, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia made a collective decision to submit the necessary nominating documents in order for these unique monuments to become part of the world's heritage.

Thirty necropolises were suggested for inclusion, 22 of which are found in BiH, with another three in Montenegro, plus three in Serbia and two in Croatia. BiH has the largest number of tombstones, nearly 60,000, while Croatia has almost 4,400, followed by Serbia with 4,100 and Montenegro with 3,500. The nominating document was entitled, Stećci – Medieval Tombstones.

There are several examples of BiH stećci in front of the National Museum of BiH in Sarajevo, as well as in its botanical garden, and others are preserved intact in Šabič, Lukomir and around Stolac.