Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 12.COM 7

The Committee,

  1. Having examined Document ITH/17/12.COM/7,
  2. Recalling Article 7(c) of the Convention and Resolution 6.GA 9 of the General Assembly,
  3. Decides to base the draft plan for the use of the resources of the Fund for the periods of 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019 and 1 January to 30 June 2020 on the total unrestricted operating reserves available as of 31 December 2017, including any unused balance;
  4. Submits for approval to the General Assembly the plan for the use of the resources of the Fund, as included in Annex I of document ITH/17/12.COM/7, and proposes to the General Assembly that one fourth of the amount established for the two-year period from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019 be provisionally allocated to the first semester of 2020;
  5. Takes note of the need to enhance the human resources of the Secretariat for the implementation of the International Assistance mechanisms of the Fund, including their effective monitoring, and welcomes the proposal for the creation of three new extra-budgetary fixed-term posts;
  6. Delegates to its Bureau the authority to decide upon the utilization of the funds allocated under budget line 3 of the Plan, ‘Other functions of the Committee’, on the basis of specific proposals to be prepared by the Secretariat;
  7. Authorizes the Secretariat, when utilizing the funds allocated under budget line 3 of the Plan, to make transfers between activities included within the specific proposals approved by the Bureau up to a cumulative amount equivalent to 2% of the initial total allocation proposed to the General Assembly for this purpose, informing the Members of the Bureau in writing, at the session following such action, of the details of and reasons for these transfers;
  8. Recommends that the General Assembly authorize the Secretariat to make transfers between budget lines 4, 5 and 6 dedicated to financial assistance for experts representing States Parties and representatives of accredited non-governmental organizations for their participation in the sessions of the Committee, its Bureau and subsidiary bodies, up to an equivalent of 30% of their initial total allocation as approved by the General Assembly, and requests that the Secretariat inform the Committee and the General Assembly in writing, at the session following such action, of the details of and reasons for these transfers;
  9. Decides to amend Rule 5.5 of its Rules of Procedure, in order to change, from four to eight weeks before the session concerned, the deadline by which the Secretariat should receive requests for assistance from States Parties to participate in Bureau and Committee meetings.

ANNEX

Draft plan for the use of the resources of the Fund

For the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019, as well as for the period 1 January to 30 June 2020, the resources of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund may be used for the following purposes:

% of the total amount

1.

International Assistance, comprising the safeguarding of the heritage inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, the preparation of inventories and support for other safeguarding programmes, projects and activities;

52.55%

1.1

Enhancing human resources to improve the implementation of the International Assistance mechanisms through the creation of three extra-budgetary fixed-term posts (one P3, one P2 and one G5);

8.20%

2.

Preparatory assistance for International Assistance requests, as well as for nomination files for the Urgent Safeguarding List and for proposals for the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices;

4.00%

3.

Other functions of the Committee as described in Article 7 of the Convention, aimed at promoting the objectives of the Convention and encouraging and monitoring its implementation, in particular by strengthening capacities to effectively safeguard intangible cultural heritage, raising awareness of the importance of such heritage, providing guidance on good safeguarding practices and updating and publishing the Lists and the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices;

20.00%

4.

Participation in the sessions of the Committee, its Bureau and subsidiary bodies of experts in intangible cultural heritage representing developing States Members of the Committee;

2.00%

5.

Participation in the sessions of the Committee and its consultative bodies of experts in intangible cultural heritage representing developing States that are Parties to the Convention but not Members of the Committee;

3.25%

6.

Participation in the sessions of the Committee, its Bureau and consultative bodies of public or private bodies, private persons, notably members of communities and groups, that have been invited by the Committee to advise it on specific matters, as well as experts in intangible cultural heritage representing accredited NGOs from developing countries;

4.00%

7.

The costs of advisory services to be provided at the request of the Committee, including support to developing States whose representatives have been appointed to the Evaluation Body;

6.00%

8.

Building up the Reserve Fund referred to in Article 6 of the Financial Regulations of the Fund;

0%

 

Subtotal

100%

Funds that have not been committed at the end of the period of this Plan are carried over to the next financial period and shall be allocated in accordance with the Plan approved by the General Assembly at that time.

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