Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 14.COM 7

The Committee,

  1. Having examined documents LHE/19/14.COM/7 Rev.2 and LHE/19/14.COM/7.INF,
  2. Recalling Article 7(c) of the Convention and Resolution 7.GA 8 of the General Assembly,
  3. Further recalling 200 EX/Decision 19 and 201 EX/Decision 24, as well as the Appropriation Resolution for 2020-2021 adopted by the General Conference at its fortieth session,
  4. Takes note of the statement of accounts of the Fund for 2018–2019 as of 30 June 2019, recalls that the payment of compulsory and assessed voluntary contributions is, as per Article 26 of the Convention, an obligation incumbent on all States Parties which have ratified the Convention and calls upon all States Parties which have not yet paid the totality of their assessed contributions for 2019 or previous years, including voluntary contributions, to ensure that their contributions are paid at the earliest opportunity;
  5. Welcomes the recent positive trends in the implementation of the Fund, commends the Secretariat for its efforts to intensify the operationalization of the International Assistance mechanisms, further takes note that a dedicated team has been established with three new extra-budgetary fixed-term posts and looks forward to observing the improved monitoring of the impact of projects supported by the Fund;
  6. Notes that, as a consequence of the intensification of the implementation of the Fund, the allocation of funds dedicated to providing International Assistance to States Parties will decrease in 2020–2021 and therefore further calls upon all States Parties to consider making voluntary contributions to complement the support already provided through the Fund;
  7. Decides to base the draft plan for the use of the resources of the Fund for the periods 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021 and 1 January to 30 June 2022 on the total unrestricted operating reserves available as of 31 December 2019;
  8. Submits for approval to the eighth session of the General Assembly the plan for the use of the resources of the Fund, as included in Annex of Document LHE/19/14.COM/7 Rev.2, and proposes to the General Assembly that one fourth of the amount established for the two-year period from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021 be provisionally allocated to the first semester of 2022;
  9. Requests that the Secretariat present, as a transition, a percentage breakdown under budget line 3 of the Plan, ‘Other functions of the Committee’, in terms of Expected Results as per the approved C/5, for examination by the eighth session of the General Assembly in 2020;
  10. Further requests that the Secretariat present for examination by the sixteenth session of the Committee, and every session thereafter in odd-numbered years, a percentage breakdown under budget line 3 of the Plan, ‘Other functions of the Committee’, in terms of Expected Results as per the approved C/5, with a view to present it for approval by the following session of the General Assembly;
  11. 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 for budget line 3 up to a cumulative amount equivalent to 5 per cent of the initial total allocation proposed to the General Assembly for this purpose, and requests that, in such cases, the Secretariat inform the Committee in writing, at the session following such action, of the details and reasons for these transfers;
  12. Recommends that the General Assembly authorize the Secretariat to make transfers between budget lines 4, 5, 6 and 7, up to an equivalent of 30 per cent of their initial total allocation 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;
  13. Further requests that the Secretariat propose, for examination by the General Assembly at its eighth session in 2020, draft revisions to the Financial Regulations of the Special Account for the Fund for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in order to align them with UNESCO’s Standard Financial Regulations.
Annex

Draft plan for the use of the resources of the Fund
For the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021, as well as for the period 1 January to 30 June 2022, the resources of the Intangible 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;   51.96%
1.1  Enhancing human resources to improve the implementation of the International Assistance mechanisms through three extra-budgetary fixed-term posts (one P3, one P2 and one G5);   10.79%
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;   2.00%
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 that are Members of the Committee;   2.63%
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;   3.31%
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;   3.31%
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   100.00%
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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