The Committee,

1. Having examined document ITH/14/9.COM/5.a,
2. Recalling Articles 7, 29 and 30 of the Convention concerning reports by the States Parties, and Chapter V of the Operational Directives, as well as its Decisions 8.COM 5.c.1, 8.COM 6.a and 8.COM 14,
3. Thanks the States Parties that submitted periodic reports for the 2014 reporting cycle and invites the States Parties that have not yet submitted the expected reports to duly submit them at the earliest opportunity;
4. Requests the Secretariat to inform States Parties concerned at least twelve months prior to the respective deadline for submission of periodic reports and encourages States Parties concerned to respect the statutory deadlines in submitting their periodic reports, particularly those that are now more than one year overdue;
5. Decides to apply to periodic reports, mutatis mutandis, the guidelines for the treatment of correspondence from the public or other concerned parties with regard to nominations, as found in Decision 7.COM 15, and further requests the Secretariat to propose for its examination at its tenth session guidelines specifically applicable to periodic reports;
6. Welcomes the attention given by States Parties not only to lessons learned and good practices but also to the challenges and difficulties they face in implementing the Convention as well as to the innovative ways in which they respond to them;
7. Congratulates the States Parties that take intangible cultural heritage in consideration in their development strategies, and particularly in rural development programmes and funds, and encourages them to further explore and report on the possible contribution of safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage in urban contexts and urban planning;
8. Emphasizes that States Parties are to involve actively the communities, groups and, if applicable, individuals in the preparation of their periodic reports, as provided in paragraphs 157 and 160 of the Operational Directives, particularly while reporting on elements inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity;
9. Reiterates its encouragement to States Parties to complement the data gathered on the implementation of the Convention through periodic reports submitted by States Parties including information provided by relevant NGOs and its invitation to States Parties to address in their reports the role of NGOs and civil society in the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage;
10. Recalls the contributions that intangible cultural heritage can make to the integration into society of cultural and linguistic minorities, to their social and economic development and to the social inclusion of marginalized groups (including persons with disabilities), and invites States Parties to address those topics in their reports;
11. Takes note of the substantial progress reported to date by numerous States Parties in meeting their inventorying obligations and encourages them to continue to share their approaches, methodologies, experiences and challenges with other States, through their periodic reports and other exchanges of information;
12. Takes further note of the diversity of gender roles and responsibilities within intangible cultural heritage expressions reported by States Parties and encourages them to give particular attention in their reports to these aspects and to the specific measures adopted to safeguard them;
13. Requests the Secretariat to provide a cumulative focus on measures taken by States Parties concerning transmission and education in the overview and summary of the 2015 reports;
14. Decides to submit to the General Assembly the ‘Overview and summary of the 2014 reports of States Parties on the implementation of the Convention and on the current status of all elements inscribed on the Representative List’, as annexed to this decision;
15. Requests States Parties to work with the Secretariat in order to avoid in their periodic reports any language inconsistent with the UN Charter as well as the 2003 Convention and invites them to meticulously pursue this principle in their future work.