The Committee,

1. Having examined documents LHE/19/14.COM/7 Rev.2 and LHE/19/14.COM/7.INF,
2. Recalling Article 7(c) of the Convention and Resolution 7.GA 8 of the General Assembly,
3. Further recalling 200 EX/Decision 19 and 201 EX/Decision 24, as well as the Appropriation Resolution for 2020-2021 adopted by the General Conference at its fortieth session,
4. Takes note of the statement of accounts of the Fund for 2018–2019 as of 30 June 2019, recalls that the payment of compulsory and assessed voluntary contributions is, as per Article 26 of the Convention, an obligation incumbent on all States Parties which have ratified the Convention and calls upon all States Parties which have not yet paid the totality of their assessed contributions for 2019 or previous years, including voluntary contributions, to ensure that their contributions are paid at the earliest opportunity;
5. Welcomes the recent positive trends in the implementation of the Fund, commends the Secretariat for its efforts to intensify the operationalization of the International Assistance mechanisms, further takes note that a dedicated team has been established with three new extra-budgetary fixed-term posts and looks forward to observing the improved monitoring of the impact of projects supported by the Fund;
6. Notes that, as a consequence of the intensification of the implementation of the Fund, the allocation of funds dedicated to providing International Assistance to States Parties will decrease in 2020–2021 and therefore further calls upon all States Parties to consider making voluntary contributions to complement the support already provided through the Fund;
7. Decides to base the draft plan for the use of the resources of the Fund for the periods 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021 and 1 January to 30 June 2022 on the total unrestricted operating reserves available as of 31 December 2019;
8. Submits for approval to the eighth session of the General Assembly the plan for the use of the resources of the Fund, as included in Annex of Document LHE/19/14.COM/7 Rev.2, and proposes to the General Assembly that one fourth of the amount established for the two-year period from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021 be provisionally allocated to the first semester of 2022;
9. Requests that the Secretariat present, as a transition, a percentage breakdown under budget line 3 of the Plan, ‘Other functions of the Committee’, in terms of Expected Results as per the approved C/5, for examination by the eighth session of the General Assembly in 2020;
10. Further requests that the Secretariat present for examination by the sixteenth session of the Committee, and every session thereafter in odd-numbered years, a percentage breakdown under budget line 3 of the Plan, ‘Other functions of the Committee’, in terms of Expected Results as per the approved C/5, with a view to present it for approval by the following session of the General Assembly;
11. Authorizes the Secretariat, when utilizing the funds allocated under budget line 3 of the Plan, to make transfers between activities included within the specific proposals for budget line 3 up to a cumulative amount equivalent to 5 per cent of the initial total allocation proposed to the General Assembly for this purpose, and requests that, in such cases, the Secretariat inform the Committee in writing, at the session following such action, of the details and reasons for these transfers;
12. Recommends that the General Assembly authorize the Secretariat to make transfers between budget lines 4, 5, 6 and 7, up to an equivalent of 30 per cent of their initial total allocation approved by the General Assembly, and requests that the Secretariat inform the Committee and the General Assembly in writing, at the session following such action, of the details of and reasons for these transfers;
13. Further requests that the Secretariat propose, for examination by the General Assembly at its eighth session in 2020, draft revisions to the Financial Regulations of the Special Account for the Fund for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in order to align them with UNESCO’s Standard Financial Regulations.