The Committee,

1. Recalling Chapter I of the Operational Directives,
2. Having examined document ITH/14/9.COM/9, and the files submitted by the respective States Parties,
3. Expresses its satisfaction with the work of the Consultative Body and the present report and thanks its members for their efforts;
4. Renews its concern that the number of nominations for inscription on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, proposal to the Register of Best Safeguarding Practices and requests for International Assistance continue to be limited;
5. Commends the 14 States Parties that submitted nominations for inscription on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, proposals for selection for the Register of Best Safeguarding Practices and requests for International Assistance;
6. Takes note that despite broad consensus on promoting the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, the Register of Best Safeguarding Practices and International Assistance, the number of files submitted have been rather limited and encourages States Parties to present files for these mechanisms;
7. Appreciates the work of the Secretariat in compiling the Aide-mémoire making accessible the issues discussed by past Bodies and the Committee and invites States Parties to take full advantage of that document when preparing future submissions, particularly for the Urgent Safeguarding List;
8. Recalls the need to elaborate nomination files with utmost care in order to avoid provoking misunderstanding among communities in any way, with a view to encouraging dialogue and mutual respect;
9. Invites the submitting States to strive to achieve clarity of expression and coherence of information when preparing future submissions;
10. Encourages submitting States to put the communities, groups and, if applicable, individuals concerned at the centre of all safeguarding measures and plans, to avoid de-contextualization of practices and to respect the socio-cultural function of the heritage concerned;
11. Welcomes the combined ICH-01bis form, permitting States Parties to simultaneously nominate an element for inscription to the Urgent Safeguarding List and request international assistance from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund to finance the proposed safeguarding plan and encourages States Parties to take advantage of this opportunity if relevant to their circumstances;
12. Further invites the future Evaluation Body to continue reflecting on the transversal and conceptual issues common to all of the Convention’s mechanisms for international cooperation and on the best way to evaluate the submitted files;
13. Invites the Evaluation Body to follow the practice of presenting its draft decisions criterion by criterion and not in a consolidated text.