Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee: 14.COM 9.A.4

The Committee,

  1. Having examined document LHE/19/14.COM/9.a Rev.,
  2. Recalling Chapter V of the Operational Directives and its Decision 9.COM 9.a.8,
  3. Expresses its thanks to Venezuela for submitting, on time, its first report on the status of the element ‘Mapoyo oral tradition and its symbolic reference points within their ancestral territory’, inscribed in 2014 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding;
  4. Takes note of the efforts undertaken by Venezuela to safeguard the element, in particular by integrating Mapoyo teachings into school curricula, enhancing the transmission of traditional knowledge related to culture and nature, and ensuring the wide participation of the communities in the implementation of the safeguarding plan;
  5. Invites the State Party to pursue its support for the transmission of the practices associated with the element, especially through formal and non-formal education, and to continue raising awareness in society about the meaning of the element;
  6. Encourages the State Party to strengthen cooperation with public and non-governmental institutions to facilitate methodological tools to allow the bearers to improve their transmission of the element;
  7. Further invites the State Party to continue to dialogue with private institutions, in particular mining companies, to ensure their commitment to the effective implementation of the safeguarding plan in order to address environmental degradation and pollution, and to achieve a sustainable use of natural resources while respecting the cultural practices of communities in the Mapoyo territory;
  8. Requests that the Secretariat inform the State Party at least nine months prior to the deadline of 15 December 2022 about the required submission of its next report on the status of this element.

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