Resolution 19 GA 8 of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention

The General Assembly,

8. Having examined Documents WHC-13/19.GA/8, WHC-13/19.GA/INF.8 and WHC-13/19.GA/INF.8.A,
9. Recalling Article 16 paragraph 1 of the World Heritage Convention on the determination, in the form of a uniform percentage, of the amount of the contributions to be paid to the World Heritage Fund by States Parties,
10. Decides to set at 1% the percentage for the calculation of the amount of the contributions to be paid to the World Heritage Fund by States Parties for the financial period 2014-2015;
11. Notes the status of compulsory and voluntary contributions to the World Heritage Fund as presented in Document WHC-13/19.GA/INF.8;
12. Requests the Director-General of UNESCO to include, in the letter requesting payment of the assessed compulsory and voluntary contributions to the World Heritage Fund to States Parties an additional paragraph requesting States Parties for supplementary voluntary contributions, and to report back to the 20th session of the General Assembly in this regard;
13. Reiterates the plea of the World Heritage Committee to States Parties to the Convention to pay their annual contributions by 31 January wherever possible in order to facilitate the timely implementation of the activities financed by the World Heritage Fund;
14. Takes note of the options proposed for allocating unrestricted supplementary voluntary contributions to the World Heritage Fund and, in order to help towards the sustainability of the World Heritage Fund, recommends to States Parties willing to make these contributions to apply one of the following options:

• Option 1: Increasing the standard percentage used in the calculation of the contributions to the World Heritage Fund from 1% to 2%,
• Option 3.1: Increasing the contributions by a flat rate of US$3,300 per property inscribed,
• Option 3.2: Increasing the contributions by an additional 4% of the current assessed contribution per property inscribed,
• Option 3.3: Increasing the contributions by an additional amount per property inscribed, according to a percentage increasing with the number of properties inscribed,
• Option 3.4: Increasing the contributions by an additional amount per property inscribed, according to a percentage decreasing with the number of properties inscribed,
• Option 4: Increasing the contributions on the basis of the number of tourists arrivals at World Heritage Sites,
• Option 5: Contributing per activity;

8. Also notes the recommendations of the Audit of the Working Methods of Cultural Conventions carried out by the Internal Oversight Service (IOS) of UNESCO and also decides with regard to recommendation 1(a) to establish a sub-account within the World Heritage Fund, to be funded from Voluntary Contributions and to be used exclusively for enhancing the human capacities of the Secretariat, and with regard to recommendation 1(e) apply the cost recovery policy for the staff time spent in managing the World Heritage Fund within the limit of the funds made available under the sub-account;
9. Invites States Parties to provide voluntary supplementary contributions to the sub-account in the amount of at least US$ 1,000,000 per year, in total;
10. Requests the World Heritage Committee to consider the remaining recommendations of the Audit at its 38th session in 2014 and present concrete measures for the implementation of the audit’s recommendations.

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