Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 16.COM 7.b

The Committee,

  1. Having examined document LHE/21/16.COM/7.b,
  2. Recalling Articles 7, 29 and 30 of the Convention concerning reports by States Parties, and Chapter V of the Operational Directives,
  3. Further recalling Decision COM 10, Resolution 7.GA 10, Decisions 13.COM 8 and 14.COM 8, as well as document LHE/19/14.COM/8,
  4. Underlining the importance of periodic reporting on the implementation of the Convention and on the current status of elements inscribed on the Representative List, which serves as a key monitoring tool for the States Parties concerned to measure the progress of implementing safeguarding measures at the national level,
  5. Expresses its satisfaction with the implementation of the first regional cycle of periodic reporting in the Latin America and the Caribbean region and welcomes the positive results achieved from this cycle, especially the greatly increased rate of submission of the reports by States Parties;
  6. Congratulates the twenty-eight States Parties in the Latin America and the Caribbean region that have submitted their reports for the 2021 reporting cycle and commends them for their efforts to complete the periodic reporting exercise;
  7. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretariat for providing support to the States Parties concerned in their reporting process through capacity-building activities and ongoing follow-up;
  8. Takes note of the challenges, including those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, during the implementation of the first regional cycle of reporting, and appreciates the Secretariat’s efforts to take necessary measures to ensure an effective implementation of the periodic reporting exercise;
  9. Acknowledges the quantitative and qualitative analysis that has been conducted for the reports, welcomes the key findings from the analytical overview of the reports, as presented in the annexes of document LHE/21/16.COM/7.b, notes with interest the common trends, challenges, opportunities and priority areas related to intangible cultural heritage as reported by the countries, and the different safeguarding approaches and methodologies adopted by States Parties to implement the 2003 Convention, and takes note that further detailed analyses of the reports will be presented to the seventeenth session of the Committee in 2022 and will contribute to the reflection year in 2025;
  10. Stresses the importance of the active involvement of the communities, groups and individuals concerned in the reporting process and encourages future reporting States Parties to involve a wide range of stakeholders, both civil society and national authorities, including those not directly working in the field of culture;
  11. Decides to submit to the General Assembly at its ninth session a summary of the reports of States Parties on the implementation of the Convention and on the current status of elements inscribed on the Representative List examined during the current session.

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