World Heritage	26 COM	

Distribution limited	
WHC-02/CONF.202/INF.16
Paris, 12 June 2002
Original: English/French	

UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL 
ORGANIZATION

CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF THE WORLD
CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE

30th Anniversary
(1972-2002)

WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE

Twenty-sixth session

Budapest, Hungary
24 - 29 June 2002

Item 6 of the Provisional Agenda:  Draft decision on the protection of the cultural 
heritage in the Palestinian Territories

Decision of the 164th session of the Executive Board of UNESCO (May 2002) concerning "Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Palestinian educational and cultural systems"

SUMMARY

Following the 164th session of the Executive Board of UNESCO, the following decision is transmitted for information. 

(3.1.1)
III

The reconstruction and rehabilitation of Palestinian educational and 
cultural systems

The Executive Board,
1. 	Having heard the introduction by the Director-General, in addition to the debate on the report by the Director-General on the execution of the programme adopted by the General Conference,
2. 	Recalling the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) and its Additional Protocols, the provisions of the Hague Convention and Protocol for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954), the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (1970), and the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972),
3. 	Recalling also 162 EX/Decision 3.5.1 on protection of the cultural heritage: acts constituting “a crime against the common heritage of humanity”, 
4. 	Recalling further all the resolutions of the United Nations relating to the conflict, particularly Security Council resolutions 1397, 1402 and 1403 and General Assembly resolution 53/27 on the Bethlehem 2000 project,
5. 	Expresses its unreserved approval to the Director-General for the efforts he is contemplating, within UNESCO’s mandate, with a view to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Palestinian institutions, infrastructures and facilities in the fields of education, culture and communication which were destroyed or damaged wholly or in part following the reoccupation by Israeli troops of Palestinian cities;
6. 	Deplores the destruction and damage caused to the cultural heritage and to institutions and infrastructures, radio and television facilities, and premises appertaining to the Palestinian education system;
7. 	Supports the initiatives of the Director-General aimed at the prompt dispatch of a UNESCO intersectoral mission to assess reconstruction needs in Palestine in the Organization’s various fields of competence; at strengthening UNESCO’s activity under the agreement signed between the Organization and the Palestinian Authority; and at calling an information meeting of all permanent delegates devoted entirely to matters of reconstruction and reconciliation in the Near East;
8. 	Endorses the Director-General’s proposal to allocate, as a confidence-building measure in the region, the sum of $1,135,000 for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of damaged Palestinian educational and cultural systems and of the cultural heritage, from the unspent balance of the preceding biennium;
9. 	Invites the Director-General:
(a)	to pursue and develop the preparation of projects intended for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and re-establishment of the educational, cultural and information systems in Palestine with a view to enabling UNESCO to take an active part in restoring peace in the region and building relations of trust;
(b)	to pursue and intensify his efforts to secure the contribution of the international community to the special fund he intends to establish to finance priority activities in Palestine;
10. 	Calls upon States, organizations and institutions, and upon individuals, to contribute generously to the special fund;
11. 	Requests the Director-General to report to it on the implementation of this decision at its next session.
(164 EX/SR.9)