The General Assembly,

1. Having examined document ITH/16/6.GA/6,
2. Welcomes the new structure of the report of the Secretariat by performance indicators as well as the inclusion of the annexes of the report detailing follow-up actions carried out in response to the Internal Oversight Service’s audits and evaluations;
3. Commends the Secretariat for ensuring the effective implementation of the decisions of the Committee and of the General Assembly as well as the efficient organization of statutory meetings and appreciates a number of improvements made in the working methods of the Secretariat such as the provision of technical assistance, summaries and in-depth studies of periodic reports, the timely treatment of nominations as well as a fully renovated website that facilitates access to existing information;
4. Expresses satisfaction on the expanded reach and continued effectiveness of the global capacity-building programme and also appreciates the regular review, adaptation and enrichment of its content and format to respond effectively to major implementation challenges at the national level;
5. Thanks the States Parties that have generously provided extrabudgetary support to make the global capacity-building strategy possible and to support the other statutory functions of the Secretariat andinvites States Parties to offer further support, particularly in the form of contributions to the sub-fund for enhancing the human resources of the Secretariat in order to allow it to address ongoing demands for the continued effective implementation of the Convention;
6. Acknowledges that the Secretariat has made good progress in response to the recommendations of the IOS evaluation and audit as well as to its corresponding decisions, and wishes that such efforts be continued as planned;
7. Takes note with interest that an expert meeting will be organised in the second half of 2016 in order to lay the foundation upon which an overall results framework of the Convention could be constructed and thanks the People’s Republic of China for its generous offer of a voluntary supplementary contribution to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund to support the organization of such meeting;
8. Further appreciates the efforts of the Secretariat to coordinate the growing network of category 2 centres and stimulate their ability to contribute effectively to UNESCO’s strategic objectives in the field of intangible cultural heritage, and encourages the Secretariat to strengthen the cooperation with UNESCO Chairs in the field of intangible cultural heritage;
9. Requests the Secretariat to report on its activities for the period between January 2016 and December 2017 for examination by the General Assembly at its seventh session, and to use this biennial format for future reports thereafter.