Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 16.COM 7.A.15

The Committee,

  1. Having examined document LHE/21/16.COM/7.a,
  2. Recalling Chapter V of the Operational Directives and its Decisions COM 8.3 and 12.COM 8.c.10,
  3. Expresses its appreciation to Indonesia for submitting, on time, its second report on the status of the element ‘Noken multifunctional knotted or woven bag, handicraft of the people of Papua’, inscribed in 2012 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding;
  4. Takes note of the continued efforts described by the report submitted by Indonesia to safeguard the element, in particular through developing a database on the variety of Noken and its raw materials, addressing the need for raw materials and establishing the Papua Noken Plant Arboretum, building capacities of bearers and other stakeholders, promoting the element at the national and international levels and enhancing its economic value;
  5. Encourages the State Party to pursue its efforts in revising teaching materials on Noken to make them easily accessible to students, building capacities for Noken-related entrepreneurship and ensuring sustainable access to raw materials through its support to the Papua Noken Plant Arboretum;
  6. Invites the State Party to carry out research on the values of Noken and disseminate its findings, to enhance knowledge on the symbolism and customary use of Noken as well as on the natural materials used for it, to acknowledge the contribution of devoted practitioners through a specially designated Cultural Award for supporting the transmission of the element, to develop an e-inventory of raw materials used for Noken and to formulate and implement policies to protect these raw materials and allow their sustainable use to safeguard the element;
  7. Further encourages the State Party to take particular heed of the impact of over-commercialization on the safeguarding of the element in order to prevent its potential decontextualization and to take due account in its safeguarding plan of any risks to the element as a result of increased market demands;
  8. Requests that the Secretariat inform the State Party at least nine months prior to the deadline of 15 December 2024 about the required submission of its next report on the status of this element.

Top