The General Assembly,
- Having examined documents LHE/24/10.GA/8 and LHE/24/10.GA/INF.8 and their respective annexes,
- Recalling Article 7(c) of the Convention and Chapter II.1 of the Operational Directives,
- Further recalling the UNESCO General Conference’s Appropriation resolution for 2024–2025 (42 C/Resolution 80),
Status and trends of the Fund
- Takes note of the statement of assessed contributions of the Fund for 2022–2023, recalls that the payment of compulsory and assessed voluntary contributions is, 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, including voluntary assessed contributions, to ensure that their contributions are paid in due course;
- Further takes note of the donors that have provided during the 2022–2023 biennium (a) voluntary supplementary contributions for specific activities approved by the Committee, namely the Netherlands and the International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (ICHCAP), as well as (b) voluntary supplementary contributions to the Sub–fund for enhancing the human capacities of the Secretariat, namely France, Lithuania, Monaco, Slovakia and Slovenia;
- Thanks all the contributors that have supported the Convention and its Secretariat, since its last session, through different forms of support, financial or in-kind, such as voluntary supplementary contributions to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund including the Sub-fund for enhancing the human capacities of the Secretariat, Funds-in-Trust, or loaned personnel, and encourages potential contributors to consider the possibility of supporting the Convention through the modality of their choice;
- Reiterates the need to enhance the human resources of the Secretariat on a lasting basis to allow the Secretariat to better respond to the needs of the States Parties and invites States Parties to provide voluntary supplementary contributions to the Sub-fund for enhancing the human capacities of the Secretariat;
Plan for the use of the resources of the Fund
- Approves the Plan for the use of the resources of the Fund for the period 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2025 as well as for the period 1 January 2026 to 30 June 2026 in the Annex to this Resolution;
- Understands that, at the time of its eleventh session in 2026, it may readjust the budget plan from 1 January 2026 to 30 June 2026; if the General Assembly is unable to meet prior to 30 June 2026, the Secretariat is authorized to continue operations until such a time that the General Assembly is able to meet;
- Also takes note of the authorization granted by the Committee to the Secretariat to use on an experimental basis an amount not exceeding 10 per cent of the approved budget of each International Assistance project, in addition to the amount granted by the Committee or its Bureau for each project, to monitor and assess the impact of projects supported by the Fund;
- Further welcomes the adjustments in allocations foreseen to operationalize the outcomes of the global reflection on the listing mechanisms of the 2003 Convention, in particular on a broader implementation of Article 18 of the Convention;
- Takes note furthermore of the authorization granted by the Committee to the Secretariat, when utilizing the funds allocated under budget line 3 of the Plan, to make transfers between activities included under 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;
- Authorizes the Committee to make immediate use of any voluntary supplementary contributions that might be received during these periods, as described in Article 27 of the Convention, in accordance with the percentages laid out in the Plan;
- Further authorizes the Committee to make immediate use of any contributions that it might accept, during these periods, for specific purposes relating to specific projects, provided that those projects have been approved by the Committee prior to the receipt of the funds, as described in Article 25.5 of the Convention;
- Also authorizes 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, 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.
ANNEX
Draft plan for the use of the resources of the Fund |
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For the period 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2025, as well as for the period 1 January to 30 June 2026, the resources of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund may be used for the following purposes: |
% of the total amount proposed 2024–2025 [1] |
Indicative amounts |
Indicative amounts |
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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, including the monitoring and evaluation of requests approved; |
50,00% |
$4 094 789 |
$1 023 697 |
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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); |
12,30% |
$1 007 318 |
$251 830 |
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2. |
Preparatory assistance for International Assistance requests, nominations and proposals to the Lists and Register of the Convention; |
2,80% |
$229 308 |
$57 327 |
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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% |
$1 637 916 |
$409 479 |
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ER 1: Implementation of the Convention encouraged through a strengthened capacity-building programme and the integration of intangible cultural heritage into development plans, policies and programmes; |
10.4% |
$851 716 |
$212 929 |
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(52% of line 3) |
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ER 2: Sound governance of the Convention facilitated by enhanced monitoring, knowledge management services and awareness-raising associated with international cooperation mechanisms |
9.6% |
$786 199 |
$196 550 |
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(48% of line 3) |
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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; |
2,50% |
$204 739 |
$51 185 |
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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; |
2,70% |
$221 119 |
$55 280 |
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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; |
2,70% |
$221 119 |
$55 280 |
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7. |
The costs of advisory services to be provided at the request of the Committee |
7,00% |
$573 270 |
$143 318 |
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TOTAL |
100,00% |
$8 189 578 |
$2 047 394 |
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[1] Percentages are applied to the balance of the Fund as of 31 December 2023. This balance does not include the Reserve Fund (US$1,000,000). |
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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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For the period 1 January 2026 to 30 June 2026 one–fourth of the amount established for the twenty–four months of the financial period 2024–2025 shall be allocated on a provisional basis, except for the Reserve Fund, whose amount was set by the Committee at US$1 million (Decision 10.COM 8). |