First meeting of the open-ended Working Group for the reflection on the procedures of election of World Heritage Committee members

During its 16^th session (UNESCO 24-25 October 2007), the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention decided to establish an open-ended Working Group to discuss alternative mechanisms to meet the following goals  :

• Ensuring a balanced geographical and cultural representation in the Committee
• Ensuring a less time-consuming and less complicated voting system
• Improving the focus on important issues at the General Assembly

The Working Group, chaired by His Excellency Mr. Kondo, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Japan to UNESCO, will make recommendations on all possible alternatives to the current election system and inform the World Heritage Committee of its work. This Working Group is due to deliver its final report to the 17^th session of the General Assembly in 2009.