Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 6.COM 13

The Committee,

  1. Recalling Article 16 of the Convention,
  2. Further recalling paragraphs 2, 13, 17 and 25 to 32 of the Operational Directives concerning inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity,
  3. Having examined Document ITH/11/6.COM/CONF.206/13 and its corrigendum and addendum and the nomination files submitted by the respective States Parties,
  4. Welcomes the possibility to refer nominations to the submitting States Parties when they lack information crucial for examination and evaluation, and encourages States Parties to take full advantage of the opportunity offered to them to improve their nominations;
  5. Invites States Parties, when elaborating nominations, to take careful heed of the observations and suggestions offered by this Subsidiary Body and its predecessors and to endeavour to submit nominations of the highest quality, providing all of the information needed for the proper examination and evaluation of the files and for their future promotion;
  6. Considers that each nomination should constitute a unique and original document and reminds submitting States that duplication of text from another nomination or use of previously published material without proper attribution is not acceptable;
  7. Takes note that the States Parties, Subsidiary Body and Committee are continually gaining experience in the implementation of the Convention and that the standards of interpretation will necessarily evolve, but decides that future examinations and evaluations should nevertheless maintain consistency, to the extent possible, with prior conclusions and decisions of the Subsidiary Body and Committee;
  8. Considers that recommendations by the previous Subsidiary Bodies should be taken into consideration as much as possible at the time of evaluation of nomination files upon their resubmission in the future;
  9. Underlines that referred files will be evaluated and examined by the Subsidiary Body and the Committee only with respect to the unsatisfied criteria in a subsequent cycle, it being understood that the paragraphs concerning the satisfied criteria might remain unchanged;
  10. Takes further note of the importance of nominating and inscribing elements that are neither overly general and all-inclusive nor overly similar to elements already inscribed on the Representative List;
  11. Underlines that nominations to the Representative List should concentrate on the situation of the element within the territory(ies) of the submitting State(s), while acknowledging the existence of same or similar elements outside its(their) territory(ies), and further decides that submitting States should not refer to the viability of such intangible cultural heritage outside of their territories or characterize the safeguarding efforts of other States;
  12. Further invites States Parties to consider the complementary purposes of the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and to ensure that nominations are submitted to the appropriate List, while recalling the possibility provided in paragraph 38 of the Operational Directives for a State Party to request transfer of an element from one List to the other;
  13. Encourages States Parties to submit multinational nominations while recognizing the complexity they present to the collaborating States Parties and communities;
  14. Reaffirms that the communities, groups and, where appropriate, individuals whose intangible cultural heritage is concerned are essential participants at all stages of the identification, the inventorying, the preparation, the elaboration and submission of nominations, in the promotion of visibility of intangible cultural heritage and awareness of its significance and in the implementation of safeguarding measures;
  15. Emphasizes that it is the communities, groups and, where appropriate, individuals who should be the primary beneficiaries of the inscription of an element on the Representative List and of the increased visibility and benefits that may arise.

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