The Committee,

1. Having examined document LHE/24/19.COM/6.a,
2. Recalling Articles 7, 29 and 30 of the Convention concerning reports by States Parties and Chapter V of the Operational Directives,
3. Underlining the importance of periodic reporting on the status of elements inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, which serves as a key monitoring tool for the States Parties concerned and for the Committee to assess the viability of elements at risk,
4. Thanks the States Parties that submitted their reports on time, and appreciates the efforts of the State Party that submitted its overdue report;
5. Observes that the recommendations of the Committee provided in its previous decisions on the reports on the inscribed elements were mostly taken into account and reflected in updated safeguarding plans, and encourages States Parties to further improve the referencing when applicable, to provide full and up-to-date content in their future reports, and to avoid repeating the content of previous reports;
6. Congratulates States Parties for the improved viability of the inscribed elements, which is demonstrated by the increasing level of community engagement in safeguarding the element, in particular among younger generations, the extension of the geographical scope of certain practices, the emergence of new transmission methods and new types of organizations, partnerships and networks, and strengthened intersectoral cooperation;
7. Reiterates the primary role played by the communities, groups and individuals concerned throughout all stages of the safeguarding plan, including the reporting stage, and invites reporting States to provide sufficient information on community participation in updating safeguarding plans;
8. Takes note of the measures taken by States Parties to address the broader environmental and socio-economic challenges, notably concerning a) economic dimensions of living heritage safeguarding or b) safeguarding intangible cultural heritage and climate change, that may be encountered in the implementation of the safeguarding plans of elements, and further invites reporting States to consider the outcomes of the UNESCO thematic initiative to enhance future efforts to safeguard elements in such contexts;
9. Further takes note that International Assistance granted under the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund has contributed to the implementation of safeguarding plans for several elements and encourages States in need of financial resources to request International Assistance from the Fund;
10. Further acknowledges that the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage could have a positive impact on gender equity, the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the revitalization of local and indigenous languages, and encourages reporting States to continue to pursue efforts to ensure increased gender balance in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage, the representation of Indigenous People in decision-making, and the use of local and indigenous languages for the transmission of elements;
11. Takes note that five reports mentioned the wish of the reporting State Party to transfer an element from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, while two other reports listed the transfer as a possible goal in the updated safeguarding plans;
12. Recalls that the designations employed in the reports presented by the States Parties do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Committee nor UNESCO concerning: (a) the legal status of any country, territory, city or area; (b) the legal status of its authorities, or (c) the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or (d) references to specific historical events;
13. Requests the Secretariat to undertake appropriate follow-up actions in order to ensure that the reporting States Parties are aware of the timing for the submission of their next reports in the context of the move towards the single global submission date system of periodic reporting;
14. Decides to submit to the General Assembly at its eleventh session a summary of the reports of States Parties on the current status of elements inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding examined during the current session.