The Committee,
- Having examined document ITH/14/9.COM/5.b,
- Recalling Chapter V of the Operational Directives and its Decisions 4.COM 14.01 and 6.COM 11,
- Expresses appreciation to Belarus for submitting its report on the status of the element ‘The Kalyady Tsars (Christmas Tsars)’, inscribed in 2009 on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding, while noting that it was not able to submit a revised report providing additional information to complete it as advised by the Secretariat;
- Takes note of the continued efforts undertaken by the State Party to respond to the concerns raised by the Committee at the time of inscription and in response to its previous report on the status of the element submitted in 2011;
- Invites the State Party to explore means of devolving the management of the budget and implementation to the concerned local authorities and ensure that the community association’s plan for the integrated conservation of their heritage receives the requisite support and financing;
- Further invites the State Party to develop its safeguarding strategy for this element in order to ensure its continued viability and the sustainability of its safeguarding beyond 2015, in particular through providing stable funding for that purpose, increasing local infrastructural development and establishing a long-term safeguarding strategy;
- Encourages the State Party to pay due attention to the clarity of expression in its next report as well as to provide the necessary details and explanations;
- Requests the Secretariat to inform the State Party twelve months prior to the deadline of 15 December 2017 for the submission of its next report on the status of this element.