1. Having examined Documents WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/3A.Rev and WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/INF.3A.Rev,

2. Adopts the agenda included in the first above-mentioned document.

1. Having examined Document WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/3B.Rev,
2. Decides to discuss item 11 of the agenda between items 4 and 5, as recommended by the Bureau;
3. Adopts the timetable included in above-mentioned document, as amended.

1. Having examined Documents WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/3C and WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/INF.3C and WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/INF.3C.Add
2. Takes note with satisfaction of the Report of the Rapporteur of its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004).

1. Having examined Document WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/4 A,
2. Also noting the oral presentation by the Chairperson of its 27th session (UNESCO, 2003), I. TENTATIVE LISTS
3. Reminds the States Parties to the Convention about the need to continue submitting their Tentative Lists in accordance with Article 11.1 of the Convention and the corresponding provisions of the Operational Guidelines ;
4. Requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with the State Parties concerned, to continue updating its records on the basis of the Tentative Lists received – in particular, by removing from its records properties already inscribed in the World Heritage List and nominations which were rejected;
5. Also requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre to set up an electronic database reflecting any change in the Tentative Lists, and to report on this matter at its 31st session (2007);

1. Having examined Documents WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/4B and WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/4B.Add,

2. Recalling Decisions 28 COM 13.1 and 28 COM 14B.57, adopted at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004),

3. Confirms that the two complete nominations per State Party referred to in paragraph 17 a) of Decision 28 COM 13.1 are inclusive of nominations deferred and referred by previous sessions of the Committee, extensions (except minor modifications of limits of the properties), transboundary nominations and serial nominations;

4. Recalls its decision at its 6th Extraordinary session (UNESCO, 2003) requesting that, in undertaking their evaluation, the Advisory Bodies consult closely with States Parties submitting nominations to the World Heritage List, and requests the Advisory Bodies to forward by 31 January of each year, starting in 2006, any final question or requests for information that they may have after the examination of their evaluation;

5. Reminds the State Parties to the Convention of the deadline of 31 March of the year of examination of the nomination, to submit supplementary information to the Director of the World Heritage Centre, and decides to evaluate the viability of this date at its 30th session (2006);

6. Invites the concerned States Parties to send, at least two working days before the opening of its session, a letter to the Chairperson of that session, with copies to the Advisory Bodies, detailing the factual errors they might have identified in the evaluation of a nomination made by the Advisory Bodies. This letter will be distributed in the working languages to the Members of the Committee and may be read by the Chairperson, following the presentation of the evaluation referred to by the Advisory Bodies;

7. Requests the Bureau to ensure, starting from its 29th session (Durban, 2005), the strict application of the procedure detailed in Annex A to this decision regarding the elaboration of documents to be examined at each of its meetings;

8. Invites the Director of the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, to submit at its 29th session proposals on ways and means of optimizing the interrelation between the results of the Periodic Reporting cycles and the conclusions derived from the State of Conservation reports –in particular in order to ensure consistency and a better conservation of the sites;

9. Requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre to continue presenting the State of Conservation reports in one document, proposing clearly in such document the reports on the state of conservation that the Committee is invited to debate (“for adoption requiring discussion”) and those that the Committee is invited just to adopt without debate (“for adoption requiring no discussion”);

10. Also requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, to propose at its 29th session: • criteria to present State of Conservation reports before the Committee • criteria orienting the inclusion of a site in the category “for adoption requiring discussion” and the category “for adoption requiring no discussion”;

11. Invites the Director of the World Heritage Centre to use the existing mechanism effectively to ensure that the Committee only considers State of Conservation reports when a decision is required or at significant stages in the implementation of a decision previously taken by the Committee;

12. Encourages States Parties, in addition to current practices, to directly fill their State of Conservation reports electronically;

13. Decides, on an experimental basis and starting at its 29th session, to:
• continue the current practice of holding one annual ordinary session of the Committee, with the possibility of convening an extraordinary session if the number of non-examined items in the agenda of the session so justifies;
• establish, in accordance with Rule 21 of the Rules of Procedure, an open-ended subsidiary body on administrative and financial issues, which will work simultaneously with the plenary sessions; and

14. Also decides to examine the previous practice in the framework of the 1972 Convention and of other conventions regarding the constitution and operation of working groups – inter alia, in parallel with the plenary sessions at the times prescribed by them - and requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre to make recommendations on this matter at its 29th session;

15. Further decides to evaluate at its 31st session (2007) the impact of the measures detailed in the preceding paragraph on the time management of its work. This, in particular, with a view to consider additional improvements to its the working methods –including the setting-up of additional working groups;

16. Requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre to organize an orientation session for new Committee Members and new Heads of Delegation.

1. Having examined Document WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/4B,

2. Recalling Decision 28 COM 13.1, adopted at its 28th session (Suzhou, 2004)

3. Decides that the Special Meeting of Experts referred to in paragraph 13 of Decision 28 COM 13.1 shall take place in Kazan, as offered by the Russian Federation and thanks the Russian authorities for their offer;

4. Decides that the Special Meeting mentioned above will take place from 6 to 9 April 2005;

5. Requests the World Heritage Centre to prepare a background paper collecting as much as possible relevant information pertaining to the elements referred to in, points a), b), c), and d) of paragraph 13 of the Decision 28 COM 13.1. This document should be considered the reference document for the work of the Special Meeting of Experts and it should also be distributed to all Members of the Committee for information under a circular letter;

6. Requests the Advisory Bodies to present to the Special Meeting of Experts a document on the analysis of the Tentative List, and thematic studies as stated in paragraph 12 of the above-mentioned decision in order to get a clear position concerning the question of the unrepresented and less represented categories of natural and cultural properties on the World Heritage List;

7. Requests the World Heritage Centre to prepare, on the basis of the conclusions and proposals of the Special Meeting of Experts, a document for the consideration by the Committee at its 29th session (Durban, 2005).

1. Having examined Documents WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/4B .and WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/4B.Add,
2. Decides that the Working group on the methods of work of the Committee established at its 7th extraordinary session shall complete its mandate at its 29th session (Durban, 2005).

1. Having examined Document WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/5A, 
2. Recalling its Decision 25 COM VII.25-27 at its 25th session (Helsinki, 2001)  to examine at its 29th session (Durban, 2005), the Periodic Report for North America, 
3. Notes the report on the progress of such Periodic Report.

1. Having examined Document WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/5A,

2. Recalling its Decision 25 COM VII.25-27 at its 25th session (Helsinki, 2001) to examine Section I of the Periodic Report for Europe at its 29th session (Durban, 2005), and Section II at its 30th session (2006),

3. Notes the report on the progress of the Periodic Report for Europe.

1. Having examined Document WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/5B,
2. Recalling its Decisions 24 COM VII.1-4 and 27 COM 20B.I, adopted at its 24th session (Cairns, 2000) and its 27th session (UNESCO, 2003), respectively,
3. Takes note of the progress made in the implementation of the Regional Programme for the Arab States and in responding to the priority needs identified in the Periodic Report for the Arab States;
4. Thanks the Dutch Government for supporting the publication of such Periodic Report;
5. Requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to continue developing the Assistance Modules, as well as projects, as part of the strategy outlined in the Regional Programme, and to consult the concerned States Parties in the process;
6. Further requests the World Heritage Centre to report at its 30th session (2006) on the outcome of the Regional Meeting foreseen in 2005 – with particular attention to the review of the Assistance Modules and the mobilization of extra-budgetary resources for their implementation.

1. Having examined Documents WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/5C and WHC-04/7 EXT.COM/INF.11,

2. Recalling its Decision 26 COM 20, adopted at its 26th session (Budapest, 2002),

3. Notes with satisfaction the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations of the Periodic Report for Africa;

4. Thanks the Italian Government for its prompt and generous contribution to the implementation of the first session of Modules II & III of the Africa Regional Programme 2004-2007, as well as the governments and institutions detailed in the Annex for their contribution to the conservation of World Heritage Sites in Africa;

5. Invites the Director of the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, to take into account, in the implementation of the training component of the Africa Regional Programme, the diversity of languages as well as the need to ensure an appropriate balance between natural and cultural heritage, with a view to promoting integrated programs;

6. Takes note of the meeting of African experts on the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and on the State of Conservation of World Heritage sites in Africa planned for March 2005 in Cape Town, South Africa;

7. Calls upon the State Parties to the Convention, UNESCO, the World Heritage Centre and other partners to support this initiative;

8. Requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre to report at its 29th session (Durban, 2005) on the results and progress accomplished in the implementation of the recommendations of both the Periodic Report for Africa and the Africa Regional Programme. 

ANNEX to the Decision 7 EXT.COM 5C

List of Governments and Institutions that have contributed to the Africa Regional Programme and to the conservation of World Heritage properties in Africa:

• Belgium, Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Federal Science Office;
• France – UNESCO Cooperation Agreement;
• Global Environment Facility (GEF)/ Small Grants Programme;
• Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• Japan, Funds-in-Trust-Agreement with UNESCO;
• Finland, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Netherlands, Funds-in Trust-Agreement with UNESCO;
• Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD);
• Nordic World Heritage Foundation;
• Portugal, Funds-in-Trust Agreement with UNESCO;
• Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)
• Swedish National Heritage;
• United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF).
• United Nations Foundation (UNF)

1. Having examined the technical cooperation assistance request made by India regarding an improved geographic information system (GIS) for Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), as presented in Documents WHC-04/7EXT.COM/6 and WHC-04/7EXT.COM/6 Add,
2. Noting that, in accordance with Decision 28 COM 10A, four requests for technical cooperation will be submitted to the Chairperson/Committee in 2005, for a total amount of US$ 104,915,
3. Considering that only an amount of US$ 160,000 is available for cultural properties under technical cooperation assistance in the 2005 budget of the World Heritage Fund,
4. Taking into account the recommendation of the Bureau and the comments presented by ICOMOS in Document WHC -04/7EXT.COM/6Add., as well as the amount of international assistance provided to the DHR in recent years (US$ 58,000),
5. Decides not to approve this request for technical cooperation.