Decision 29 COM 16

Presentation of the World Heritage Fund and Budget 2006-07

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-05/29.COM/16 and WHC-05/29.COM/16Corr.,
2. Aware that the proposed expenditure is higher than the expected income in biennium 2006/2007, and that the reserves of the World Heritage Fund are decreasing for the 4th consecutive biennium,
3. Approves a total World Heritage Fund expenditure of US$ 6,656,836 for the 2006-2007 biennium and the corresponding budget contained in the annexed Tables 1 and 3 of Document WHC-05/29.COM/16 and table 2 of document WHC-05/29.COM/16 Corr.;
4. Requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre to ensure that all budgetary decisions made at its 29th session (Durban, 2005) are fully integrated into the World Heritage Fund budget approved for the biennium 2006/2007;
5. Requests the Director General of UNESCO and the Director of the World Heritage Centre to ensure that the ‘Regular Programme Decentralised Funds", managed by field offices, are spent in line with Main Line of Action 2 (MLA) and Main Line of Action 3;
6. Considering the substantial amount of extra-budgetary funds already spent by 31 March 2005, requests the Director-General of UNESCO to establish additional posts under the Funds-in-Trust Overheads Cost Account (FITOCA) in the 2006/2007 biennium;
7. Requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre to establish an administrative mechanism to carry forward into the following biennium International Assistance Requests funded by the World Heritage Fund which are not completed in the preceding biennium;
8. Also requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre to report on the execution of the budget, including all funding sources of financing, at each session of the Committee, in the framework of its Annual Report;
9. Recognising the volume of work demanded to the Advisory Bodies by the Committee, further requests that the Director of the World Heritage Centre submit at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006) a detailed report on the activities of the Advisory Bodies which are funded by the World Heritage Fund, in order to allow the Committee to consider prioritising the activities requested to such Bodies.