The Committee,
- Having examined document LHE/21/16.COM/9 and its annex,
- Recalling Decisions COM 15 and 15.COM 6,
- Acknowledges the efforts by the ICH NGO Forum to enhance its organizational capacity in coordinating the work of accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which bring extensive and highly diverse safeguarding experiences and expertise to the 2003 Convention;
- Appreciates the increased participation of accredited NGOs in the sessions of the Committee and the useful role played by the ICH NGO Forum in providing capacity building to newly accredited NGOs in understanding the work of the Committee;
- Notes with appreciation the establishment by the ICH NGO Forum of a new thematic working group dedicated to increasing the number of accredited NGOs in underrepresented regions and encourages the Forum to pursue its efforts in this direction;
- Takes note of the ongoing collaboration between the ICH NGO Forum and the Secretariat to conduct a mapping of the domains of competencies of accredited NGOs in response to its Decision COM 15;
- Welcomes the readiness demonstrated by the ICH NGO Forum to assume an enhanced advisory role to the Committee;
- Further encourages States Parties to consider the possibility of providing financial support for the work of the ICH NGO Forum through the modality of their choice;
- Decides to include a separate item on the ‘Report of the non-governmental organizations forum’ on the provisional agenda of its seventeenth session.