Periodic Reporting 2nd Cycle: Europe and North America region (2012-2015)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/19/43.COM/10A,
2. Recalling Decision 41 COM 10B.5, adopted at its 41st session (Krakow 2017),
3. Welcomes the progress made in the follow-up of the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting for Europe;
4. Reiterating that the follow-up of the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting has considerable resource and work load implications, encourages States Parties to financially support the implementation of the regional Action Plans through support to the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies with a view to enabling further reflections in the follow-up to the Helsinki Action Plan Monitoring Survey of 2016;
5. Requests the States Parties of North America to submit a progress report on the implementation of the Action Plan for North America at its 45th session;
6. Welcomes the progress made in finalizing Retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value in both sub-regions, expresses its sincere gratitude to the States Parties of North America for completing the process for all Retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value in the sub-region;
7. Reminds the States Parties of the region which have not already done so to submit their Retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value by 1 February 2020 at the latest, as well as clarifications of boundaries by 1 December 2019 at the latest;
8. Also requests the World Heritage Centre to present a progress report on the implementation of the Action Plan for Europe at its 45th session in 2021.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/10A,
2. Recalling Decisions 36 COM 10B, 37 COM 10B and 38 COM 10A.2, adopted at its 36th (Saint-Petersburg, 2012), 37th (Phnom Penh, 2013) and 38th (Doha, 2014) sessions respectively,
3. Expresses its sincere appreciation for the considerable efforts made by all States Parties in Europe in submitting the Periodic Reporting questionnaires and thanks all the Focal Points and Site Managers for their participation and commitment;
4. Also thanks the authorities of Azerbaijan, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden for their support in organizing regional and sub-regional meetings in collaboration with the World Heritage Centre since the end of the First Cycle of Periodic Reporting;
5. Further thanks the Finnish authorities for successfully organising the final regional meeting (Helsinki, Finland, 1-2 December 2014) to discuss the outcomes of the Second Cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise and develop, with the active participation of the Focal Points, the Framework Action Plan for Europe;
6. Commends the World Heritage Centre for the production of a number of tools to guide and assist Focal Points and Site Managers (online Periodic Reporting platform, handbook, video tutorials, FAQ); for the technical support provided throughout the exercise; for making the Summary Reports for each property and State Party available publically on its website as soon as possible after submission, in agreement with the States Parties; and for sharing the national Periodic Reporting datasets with the relevant national authorities;
7. Welcomes with satisfaction the Final Report on the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting in Europe and encourages the States Parties to widely disseminate the Report among all relevant stakeholders in the region;
8. Acknowledges and endorses the Second Cycle Framework Action Plan for Europe (“Helsinki Action Plan”) and its three core objectives (Identification and Protection of Outstanding Universal Value; Effective Management of World Heritage Properties; Increased Awareness of the Convention), and takes note with appreciation of the joint efforts by the World Heritage Centre, the Focal Points and the Advisory Bodies to produce a Framework Action Plan in an innovative format, in order to facilitate its appropriation and integration into national, sub-regional and regional strategies;
9. Strongly encourages the States Parties to integrate all relevant elements of the Helsinki Action Plan into to their national strategies for World Heritage;
10. Also encourages the States Parties to make use of all the data and information provided to them during the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting to implement the Action Plan at all levels, in particular with regard to the management of World Heritage properties (including management plans, sustainable tourism strategies, disaster and risk preparedness strategies, etc.);
11. Further encourages the States Parties to collaborate at regional and/or sub-regional level to ensure the implementation of this Action Plan, for instance by organising regular (sub-) regional meetings;
12. Requests the States Parties to devote the necessary technical and financial resources to implementing the Action Plan at all levels, and also requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to provide technical support at the request of States Parties;
13. Welcomes the World Heritage Centre’s initiative to share the results of a short monitoring survey with the States Parties every two years, in order to assist them in the implementation of the Action Plan, and further encourages the States Parties to actively support this pilot follow-up initiative;
14. Decides that the significant modifications to boundaries and changes to criteria (re- nominations) requested by the States Parties in Europe as a follow-up to the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting will not fall within the limit of two nominations per State Party per year imposed by Paragraph 61 of the Operational Guidelines, while they will still fall within the overall yearly limit for complete nominations established by the Operational Guidelines. This decision shall apply for the 1 February 2016 and 1 February 2017 deadlines for Europe, after which the normal limits established in Paragraph 61 will be resumed;
15. Further notes that  the  follow-up  to  the  Second  Cycle  of  Periodic  Reporting  has considerable resource and workload implications for the World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and the States Parties, and further encourages the States Parties not only to make all the resources necessary for this follow-up available at national level, but also to support the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies;
16. Finally requests the World Heritage Centre to prepare a progress report on the follow-up to the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting for examination at its 40th session in 2016.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-15/39.COM/10A,
2. Recalling Decision 38 COM 10A.1, adopted at its 38th session (Doha, 2014),
3. Welcomes the preparation of the Action Plan by the World Heritage Focal Points from North America, illustrating the close cooperation between the two States Parties of Canada and the United States of America, and takes note of the efforts to further strengthen the cooperation with the State Party of Mexico for a number of the proposed actions taking into consideration the shared natural and cultural heritage of the three States Parties;
4. Acknowledges and endorses the Second Cycle Action Plan for the sub-region of North America and its five result areas (Future Tentative Lists; Strategies for public information and outreach about World Heritage; Increased communication and cooperation between World Heritage site managers throughout the sub-region; International Assistance to World Heritage properties; Integration into existing areas of sub-regional cooperation);
5. Commends the States Parties for their efforts to continue the work undertaken in the framework of the Retrospective Inventory and the preparation of the Retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value, and encourages the States Parties to finalise this important work in the best of time;
6. Takes note of the proposed timeframe of five years for the implementation of the Periodic Reporting Action Plan for North America, and requests the States Parties of Canada and United States of America to submit a progress report on the implementation of the Action Plan to the World Heritage Centre, for presentation to the World Heritage Committee at its 40th session in 2016.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/10A,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 10B, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Welcomes the preparation of the Periodic Report for North America by the World Heritage Focal Points from North America, illustrating the close cooperation between the two States Parties of Canada and the United States of America;
4. Takes note of the Periodic Report for North America and the activities undertaken as a follow-up of the First Cycle, including the work undertaken in the framework of the Retrospective Inventory and the preparation of the retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value and encourages the States Parties to continue this important work;
5. Decides that the significant modifications to boundaries and changes to criteria (re-nominations) requested by the States Parties of Canada and the United States of America as a follow-up to the Second Cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise will not fall within the limit of two nominations per State Party per year imposed by Paragraph 61 of the Operational Guidelines, while they will still fall within the overall limit of forty-five complete nominations per year. This decision shall apply for the 1 February 2015 and 1 February 2016 deadlines for the sub-region of North America, after which time the normal limit established in Paragraph 61 will be resumed;
6. Also encourages the States Parties to prepare an Action Plan to address the main conclusions, issues and opportunities identified in the Periodic Report for North America and present it to the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/10A,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 10B, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Also recalling that the second cycle of Periodic Reporting in Europe and North America takes place on a two-year basis (Group A: North America, Western, Nordic and Baltic Europe sub-regions for the first year 2012-2013; and Group B: Mediterranean, Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe for the second year 2013-2014),
4. Takes note of the activities that took place in the framework of the implementation of the second cycle of Periodic Reporting for Group A and B;
5. Thanks the Italian and the Azerbaijani authorities for having hosted Periodic Reporting meetings since the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee;
6. Commends the World Heritage Centre for its efforts to make the Periodic Reporting data available as soon as possible to the Focal Points and site managers through the provision of the Periodic Reporting national data sets and the publication of the Short Summary Reports and encourages the World Heritage Centre to continue this work for Group B, in agreement with the relevant States Parties;
7. Notes with appreciation the support of the Nordic World Heritage Foundation in the implementation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting;
8. Reiterates its gratitude to the States Parties for their financial contributions to the implementation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting in Europe and North America, and also encourages support in the future;
9. Requests the World Heritage Centre to submit to the World Heritage Committee an overall Periodic Report and Action Plan for Europe at its 39th session in 2015.

The World Heritage Committee,

1.  Having examined Document WHC-13/37.COM/10B,

2.   Recalling Decision 36 COM 10B adopted at its 36th session (Saint Petersburg, 2012),

3.   Recalling furthermore that the second cycle of Periodic Reporting in Europe and North America takes place on a two-year basis (Group A: North America, Western, Nordic and Baltic Europe sub-regions for the first year 2012-2013, and Group B: Mediterranean, Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe for the second year 2013-2014), provided that a report on the Periodic Reporting exercise for North America will be presented at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2014, and an overall report on the Periodic Reporting exercise for Europe will be presented at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2015,

4.   Takes note of the activities implementing the second cycle of Periodic Reporting for Group A and preparing the launch of Periodic Reporting for Group B;

5.    Thanks the German authorities and the Georgian authorities for having hosted preparatory meetings in the framework of the Periodic Reporting exercise;

6.       Also thanks the Nordic World Heritage Foundation for its collaboration in the preparation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting;

7.    Reiterates its sincere appreciation to the Italian authorities, the Azerbaijani authorities and the Luxembourg authorities for their proposals to host future meetings in the framework of the Periodic Reporting exercise in 2013-2015;

8.       Welcomes the progress made with the initiative to prepare an integrated and targeted strategy addressing the priority needs in training and capacity-building for the preservation of World Heritage properties in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and commends the Steering Group for its commitment to carry forward this work;

9.     Also commends the States Parties which have submitted draft retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value before the official launch of the Periodic Reporting exercise as requested in Decision 35 COM 10C.2 , and urges the States Parties to submit the pending retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value as soon as possible;

10.     Reiterates its gratitude to the Andorran, Monegasque, Portuguese and Dutch authorities, as well as the Flemish authorities for their financial contributions to the implementation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting in Europe and North America, and encourages further support and collaboration in the future;

11.     Requests the World Heritage Centre to report back to the World Heritage Committee on progress made with Periodic Reporting at its 38th session in 2014.

The World Heritage Committee,

1.   Having examined Document WHC-12/36.COM/10B,

2.   Recalling Decisions 30 COM 11A.1, 30 COM 11A.2, 31 COM 11A.1, 31 COM 11A.2, 32 COM 11D, 34 COM 10B.3 and 35 COM 10C.2 adopted at its 30th (Vilnius, 2006), 31st (Christchurch, 2007), 32nd (Quebec City, 2008), 34th (Brasilia, 2010) and 35th (UNESCO, 2011) sessions, respectively,

3.   Takes note of the follow-up activities to the first cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise in the region of Europe and North America and the activities in preparation of the launching of its second cycle;

4.   Thanks the Maltese authorities for having hosted the preparatory meeting for Mediterranean Europe in Valetta from 21 to 24 September 2011 and the Icelandic authorities for having hosted the preparatory meeting for Nordic, Baltic and Western Europe in Reykjavik from 18 to 21 October 2011;

5.   Also thanks the Nordic World Heritage Foundation for its collaboration in the preparation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise, including preparation of meetings as well as relevant tools;

6.   Expresses its sincere appreciation to the German authorities for having proposed to host a meeting for Nordic, Baltic, Western and Mediterranean Europe in Berlin from 19 to 20 September 2012, the Georgian authorities for having proposed to host a meeting for Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe in autumn 2012, the Italian authorities for having proposed to host a meeting for Mediterranean Europe in Florence in September 2013 and the authorities of Luxembourg for having proposed to host a meeting for Nordic, Baltic and Western Europe in 2013/2014;

7.   Welcomes the initiative of the World Heritage Centre and ICCROM to address the priority needs in training and capacity-building for the preservation of World Heritage properties in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, by an integrated and targeted strategy in the context of the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting;

8.   Commends the States Parties which have submitted draft retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value before the official launching of the Periodic Reporting exercise as requested in Decision 35 COM 10C.2 and urges the States Parties to submit the pending retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value as soon as possible;

9.   Reiterates its gratitude to the States Parties of Andorra, Monaco, Portugal and the Netherlands who have made financial contributions to the implementation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise in Europe and North America, acknowledges with thanks the pledge by the Flemish Government to financially support the exercise and encourages further support and collaboration for the future;

10. Also takes note of the Road Map developed at the Reykjavik meeting in 2011 and requests the States Parties to make an effort towards a coordinated approach for its implementation;

11. Decides to launch the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting in the Europe and North America region and also reiterates that it will take place on a two-year basis (North America, Western, Nordic and Baltic Europe sub-regions, for the first year, and Mediterranean, Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, for the second year) provided that a report on the Periodic Reporting exercise for North America will be presented at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2014, and an overall report on the Periodic Reporting exercise for Europe will be presented at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2015;

12.  Also welcomes the creation of the web platform for the follow-up and implementation of the Periodic Reporting exercise and also encourages the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and other concerned partners to explore all the opportunities that this tool can provide for the joint implementation of the exercise;

13.   Also requests the World Heritage Centre to report back to the World Heritage Committee on progress achieved in the Periodic Reporting exercise at its 37th session in 2013.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-11/35.COM/10C,

2. RecallingDecisions 30 COM 11A.1, 30 COM 11A.2, 31 COM 11A.1, 31 COM 11A.2, 32 COM 11D and 34 COM 10B.3 adopted at its 30th (Vilnius, 2006), 31st (Christchurch, 2007), 32nd (Quebec City, 2008) and 34th (Brasilia, 2010) sessions respectively,

3. Takes note of the follow-up activities to the first cycle of Periodic Reporting exercise in the region of Europe and North America and the results of the sub-regional meetings for Nordic, Western and Mediterranean Europe;

4. Thanks the Israeli authorities for having organized the follow-up meeting for Mediterranean Europe in 2010 in Acre, the Estonian authorities for having hosted the follow-up meeting for Nordic and Baltic Europe in 2010 in Tallinn with the support of the Nordic World Heritage Foundation, the Dutch authorities for having hosted the follow-up meeting for Western Europe in 2010 in Amersfoort, the Czech authorities for having hosted a meeting for Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe in 2011 in Prague, and the authorities of Malta for having proposed to host a meeting in Malta in September 2011 for the Mediterranean Europe sub-region, currently under preparation;

5. Welcomes the proposal of Italy to host a preparatory meeting for the Mediterranean Europe sub-region in 2012 in Florence, and takes note of the interest of the authorities of Azerbaijan, Germany and Greece to host preparatory meetings in 2012, for their respective sub-regions, namely Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Mediterranean Europe sub-regions, to be confirmed, as well as of the intention of the State Parties in North America to organize preparatory Periodic Reporting meetings and/or teleconferences with the site managers in 2011 and 2012;

6. Thanks the Netherlands and Monaco for their financial contributions for the preparation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise and calls upon the States Parties and the international community to support financially the Periodic Reporting exercise in the Europe and North America region, considering the scope of work to be done, including capacity-building activities and evaluation of Statements of Outstanding Universal Value;

7. Invites the States Parties to prepare, in coordination with the World Heritage Centre, the launch of the second cycle of Periodic Reporting exercise for the Europe and North America region at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee and decides that it will take place on a two year basis (North America, Western, Nordic and Baltic Europe sub-regions, for the first year, and Mediterranean, Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, for the second year) provided that a report on the Periodic Reporting exercise for North America will be presented at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2014, and a report on the Periodic Reporting exercise for Europe at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2015;

8. Reiterates its request that the States Parties should submit the retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2012, in order to ensure the preparation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise;

9. Also requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to prepare a progress report on the follow-up of the first cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise for Europe and North America and on the preparations for the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise for Europe and North America, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session in 2012.