(i) better representation of geographical regions in the Bureau; and,
(ii) enhanced expertise for both natural and cultural properties.

Having also in mind that the membership of the Committee itself would be increased from 15 to 21 delegates at the second General Assembly, the Committee agreed to elect henceforth 7 officers for the Bureau which would then consist of the Chairman, five Vice-Chairmen and the Rapporteur.

17. With regard to Article 2 paragraph 5: The delegate of Poland recommended rewording to avoid obligation to meet expenses (for instance, for medical treatment) in convertible currency for countries with a non-convertible currency. Several delegates considered that governments should be encouraged to employ the fellow to the extent possible upon his return, in the field for which he has been trained under the fellowship rather than to force governments to do so as a condition sine qua non.

18. With regard to Article 3, as the delegate of Canada pointed out, not all States Parties had adhered to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of Specialized Agencies of the UN system. He therefore recommended that the wording of Article 3 be reconsidered by taking into account specific regulations by which some of the States Parties might be bound.

19. With regard to paragraph 3 of Article 3, the delegate of the United States of America requested that the stipulation not to impose commercial bank charges should be reconsidered as it might be difficult to apply this clause in some countries.

20. With regard to paragraph 5 of Article 3, the delegate of Canada expressed doubt that the "save harmless clause" would be an appropriate provision, as its legal value from the point of view of his government was questionable.

21. Article 4 should also contain a provision for the use in the agreement of the official language(s) of the country receiving assistance.

22. As regards paragraph 3 of Article 4, the delegate of Canada recommended the following clause: "In the event of termination, the undertakings assumed in this arrangement will continue to apply to the extent necessary to permit the orderly withdrawal of personnel and funds and the settlement of accounts, provided that in no case will the arrangement continue to apply for a period longer than (- x - months or years)."

Point a) (v) should read "... formes d'habitats humains traditionnels ou de conceptions urbanistiques ..." instead of "... formes d'habitats humains traditionnels ...". Upon the Rapporteur's proposal, the Committee decided to amend also the corresponding English text in order to add the same clarifications.

(a) a brochure in five UNESCO languages (Arabic, English, French,Russian and Spanish) aimed primarily at opinion-makers in States not yet adhering to the Convention, to describe the objectives of the Convention, the criteria for nominations to the World Heritage List, the types of assistance available and the ways of applying for such assistance;

(b) a simple, four-panel leaflet on the Convention and its objectives in all five UNESCO languages for distribution to the general public everywhere on a large scale, to answer inquiries; and

(c) a World Heritage poster.

(i) for identifying cultural and natural properties of universal importance and preparatory work with a view to nominating properties for inclusion in the World Heritage List (see Article 13, paragraph 2 of the Convention), and

(ii) for drawing up technical assistance requests, including preparation of feasibility studies for future technical co-operation projects in accordance with Article 13, paragraph 1, and Article 21, paragraphs 1 and 3, of the Convention.

NAME OF PROPERTY INCLUDED IN THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST (STATE PARTY)

L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Park (Canada)

Nahanni National Park (Canada)

Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)

City of Quito (Ecuador)

Simien National Park (Ethiopia)

Rock Hewn Churches, Lalibela (Ethiopia)

Aachen Cathedral  (Federal Republic of Germany)

Cracow's Historic Centre (Poland)

Wieliczka - salt mine (Poland)

Island of Goree (Senegal)

Mesa Verde (United State of America)

Yellowstone (United State of America)

Item of expenditure / Funds authorized

I. Preparatory Assistance

Preparation of nominations to the World Heritage List and(or) preparation of requests and feasibility studies for technical cooperation projects (provision of experts, equipment or financial grants required for the work foreseen under this item), as provided for
in Articles 13.2 and 21.3 of the Convention / $140.000

II. Technical cooperation

Training (fellowships) for nationals of States Parties to the Convention, as foreseen in Article
22(c) of the Convention / $ 90.000

III. Emergency Assistance (Provision of experts, equipment or financial grants), as foreseen in Article 21.2 of the Convention / $150.000

IV. Programme Support

Technical review of nominations by ICOMOS

For 15 to 30 nominations $300 per nomination
(For up to 15 nominations $450 per nomination) / $9.000

Technical review of nominations by IUCN

For 15 to 30 nominations $300 per nomination
(for up to 15 nominations $450 per nomination) / $9.000

Public information activities / $30.000

// $ 48.000

V. Temporary Assistance for the Secretariat / $ 47.000

Total / $475.000
Contingency Funds (3% of $475.000) / $ 14.250

// $ 489.250

3. Representatives of the following States also participated, as observers, in the General Assembly : Belgium, Chile, Finland, the German Democratic Republic, Guatemala, the Holy See, Indonesia, Japan, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar; Mauritania, Nicaragua, Romania, San Marino, and Spain. Eight International organizations including the three advisory organizations to the World Heritage Committee, namely the International Centre for Conservation (ICCROM), the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) also attended the meeting in an observer capacity.

4. The list of the participants at the meeting is given in the annex to this document.

10. The Chairman explained to the General Assembly the procedure to be followed for the election of members of the Committee. As a result of the increase in the number of States having ratified or accepted the Convention, the number of members of the Committee would be increased from 15 to 21. It would therefore be necessary to elect, on the one hand, five members to replace the five members whose term of office was to expire at the end of the 20th session of the General Conference and, on the other hand, six new members whose term of office would be decided by drawing lots. The term of office of two of these States would terminate at the end of the 21st session of the General Conference, that of two other States at the end of the 22nd session of the General Conference, and that of the two remaining States at the end of the 23rd session of the General Conference. The choice by lot would be undertaken by the President of the General Conference, in conformity with Article 9, paragraph 2, of the Convention.

11. Some delegates referred to the terms of the Convention whereby “any State Party to the Convention which is in arrears with the payment of its compulsory or voluntary contribution for the current year and the calendar year immediately preceding it shall not be eligible as a membem of the World Heritage Committee”. In the light of this provision, the delegates of the Federal Republic of Germany and of Costa Rica withdrew their candidature. They explained to the Assembly that the delay in paying their contributions was due to budgetary reasons, but that their governments would take the necessary measures to make the payments very shortly.

12. Several delegates then broached the problem of geographical distribution, making reference to Article 8, paragraph 2, of the Convention, according to which "Election of members of the Committee shall ensure an equitable representation of the different regions and cultures of the world". One delegate proposed, in view of the practice followed in the elections to other bodies of Unesco, and given the distribution of the 40 States Parties to the Convention among the electoral groups set up for the purpose of elections to the Executive Board, that the 21 seats on the Committee be attributed as follows: 5 seats to Group I, 2 to Group II, 4 to Group III, 3 to Group IV and 7 to Group V. This proposal gave rise to a wide exchange of views on the principles which should govern the distribution of the seats. Some speakers suggested a different distribution among these same groups, or the formation of different groups, while others observed that the procedure could not be the same for elections involving the 145 Member States of Unesco as for the election of members to the Committee, since the Convention had, to date, only 40 States Parties. Many delegates stressed the need to remain flexible, since the number of States Parties was likely to increase, and it would be dangerous to establish rigid principles which would create a precedent for future elections.

13. Taking into account the wish of all those present to reach a balanced geographical distribution, and in order to allow the delegations time to arrive at an agreement, the Chairman proposed that the meeting be suspended. Since it had not been possible to reach an agreement, he suggested the delegates should proceed to vote by secret ballot, bearing in mind the moral obligation to achieve an equitable distribution. In order to help to clarify the situation, the delegate of Poland withdrew his country's candidature, in favour of that of Bulgaria.

14. Other questions concerning more specifically the voting procedure itself were raised and, in particular, as to whether the five States members whose term of office was due to expire at the end of the 20th session of the General Conference could be re-elected to the new Committee. The Deputy Assistant Director-General (Operational Activities) of the Sector of Culture and Communication replied that there was nothing in the Convention that was contrary thereto. One delegate, with the support of many other delegations, proposed that the Assembly should proceed to a single vote for the eleven members to be elected. The five candidates gaining the largest number of votes would be considered as elected in replacement of the five retiring members, and the six candidates with the next highest number of votes would be considered as elected to the six new seats, and their terms of office would consequently be determined by lot. This proposal was accepted by the Assembly.

15. The Chairman then appointed the delegates of Costa Rica and Egypt as tellers, and the General Assembly proceeded to the vote. The results of the vote, which the Chairman announced, were as follows:

Number of votes obtained by the States having obtained the required majority (18 votes):

 16. The five States having obtained the greatest number of votes were declared elected by the Chairman in replacement of the five States whose term of office was to expire at the end of the 20th session of the General Conference. The next six States mentioned above were declared elected by the Chairman as new members of the Committee, with terms of office to be determined by drawing As a result of the choice by lot undertaken by the President of the General Conference on 23 November 1978, the terms of office of the six new members were fixed as follows : Algeria and Sudan until the end of the 21st session of the General Conference, Bulgaria and Nepal until the end of the 22nd session of the General Conference, and Senegal and Switzerland until the end of the 23rd session.