The Committee,

1. Having examined Document ITH/12/7.COM/7,
2. Recalling Chapter I of the Operational Directives and its Decision 6.COM 12,
3. Expresses its satisfaction with the work of the Consultative Body and the present report and thanks its members for their efforts;
4. Expresses its further satisfaction that the 2012 nominations to the Urgent Safeguarding List, proposals to the Register of Best Safeguarding Practices and requests for International Assistance greater than US$25,000 demonstrate the initial impact of the Convention’s global capacity-building strategy and welcomes with appreciation the increasing number of files submitted by developing countries, particularly those in Africa;
5. Further welcomes the initiative of several States Parties to consider the fundamental importance of intangible cultural heritage as a guarantee of sustainable development and commends them for submitting files that place considerations of sustainable development at their core;
6. Taking note of the discussions about safeguarding, commercialization and sustainable development, invites the Secretariat to propose draft directives about this topic for the next session of the Committee, elaborating among others paragraphs 116 and 117 of the Operational Directives;
7. Invites States Parties when elaborating files to take careful heed of the relevant decisions of the Committee as well as the observations and suggestions offered by the Consultative Body in its 2011 and 2012 reports, and to endeavour to submit files of the highest quality, providing all of the information needed for their proper examination and evaluation;
8. Reminds States Parties that files in which information is misplaced cannot enjoy favourable conditions for evaluation and examination, and encourages States Parties to take particular care to provide information in its proper place in the nomination, proposal or request;
9. Underlines that submitting States should not characterize the safeguarding efforts of other States or refer to the practices and activities within other States in a manner that might lead to misunderstanding or diminish mutual respect among the populations of the respective States;
10. Further encourages the States Parties to develop sustainable safeguarding plans with more focused activities, feasible timelines and clearly identified sources of budget;
11. Recalls that the inscription on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding does not imply the granting of financial assistance from the Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund;
12. Reaffirms that the communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals whose intangible cultural heritage is concerned are essential participants throughout the conception and elaboration of nominations, proposals and requests, as well as the planning and implementation of safeguarding measures, and invites States Parties to devise creative measures to ensure that their widest possible participation is built in at every stage, as required by Article 15 of the Convention;
13. Recalls that submitting States Parties are welcome, within the established deadlines, to revise files to provide additional information needed for their examination, but decides that it cannot examine new files on different subjects that are substituted in place of those originally submitted and requests the Secretariat to return such substitute files to the submitting States Parties without proceeding to their evaluation or examination during the cycle concerned;
14. Recalls the on-going capacity-building programme and technical assistance provided by the Secretariat, and further recalls the possibility to request preparatory assistance in accordance with paragraphs 18 and 19 of the Operational Directives;
15. Encourages States Parties, when elaborating nominations, proposals and particularly requests for international assistance, to take advantage of these resources as well as the opportunity to receive technical support from other States.