1. Having examined Documents WHC-11/18.GA/8 and WHC-11/18.GA/INF.8,

2. Endorses the recommendations of the independent evaluation by UNESCO’s external auditor on the implementation of the Global Strategy from its inception in 1994 to 2011 and the Partnership for Conservation Initiative (PACT) requested by its Resolution 17 GA 9 (UNESCO, 2009),

3. Welcomes the views of all States Parties that provided comments following the Circular Letter dated 13 July 2011;

4. Urges all parties to take into consideration the recommendations of the External Auditor  while implementing the Global Strategy;

5. Decides to establish an open-ended working group including experts from the different geographic regions, whose composition would be determined by States Parties and depending significantly on extrabudgetary funds, to examine the report of the External Auditor, in order to produce an implementation plan for the recommendations for
consideration by the World Heritage Committee and to present a final report to the 19th session of the General Assembly;

6. In order to assist the open-ended working group, invites the World Heritage Centre, in close collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, to produce by 1 February 2012 a working document, which:

a) proposes a prioritized list of recommendations in the framework of the objectives of  the Strategic Action Plan, adopted in resolution 18 GA 11, and considering decisions 35 COM 12A to 35 COM 12E,

b) indicates the financial implications,

c) suggests the allocation of responsibility between States Parties, the General Assembly, the World Heritage Committee, the Advisory Bodies and the World Heritage Centre;

7. Recommends that this open-ended working group meets before the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee, in order to report to the Committee on the work undertaken;

8. Invites UNESCO and its World Heritage Centre to implement the recommendations concerning PACT notably in order to harmonize PACT with UNESCO’s development of partnership strategies in order:

a) to improve the traceability of funds and the concordance of partnerships with the goals and objectives of the Convention,

b) to ensure the transfer of funds to the World Heritage Fund in accordance with article 15 of the Convention; 

9. Requests the World Heritage Centre to provide the General Assembly at its 19th session in 2013 with a report for approval of the work undertaken.

IX.33 Concerning the use of the World Heritage Emblem, the Chairperson recalled discussions of the twenty-second extraordinary session of the Bureau and invited the Delegate of Canada, who had suggested amendments to the Guidelines prepared by Japan and the United States of America, to present them.

IX.34 In presenting the proposed document, "Guidelines and Principles for the Use of the World Heritage Emblem", the Delegate of Canada informed the Committee that the proposal emanated from the Guidelines prepared by Japan and the United States of America (WHC-98/CONF.203/11Add) and was finalized in co-operation with these delegations. She underlined the fact that the document was not a new proposal, but a slightly modified version of the Japanese/USA Guidelines, presenting a more concise, but nevertheless self-contained document. She recalled that the adoption of the proposed Guidelines and Principles would entail a revision of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. She concluded by stating that, after having spent close to two years working on this issue and in view of the growing urgency of the matter, the Committee should adopt guidelines to provide all concerned parties with a tool ensuring appropriate use of the Emblem.

IX.35 While recognizing that the proposed Guidelines reflected the comments of the Secretariat to some extent, the representative of the UNESCO Publishing Office who participated in the debate, expressed reserve regarding the applicability of the Guidelines and quality control requirements proposed in the document. He stated that this might discourage media related companies (publishers, film producers, etc.) from requesting the use of the Emblem on World Heritage related information products.

IX.36 During the discussions, concerns were raised on the legal aspects related to the protection of the Emblem and the implications of these aspects in terms of the responsibilities of the Committee and the States Parties to the Convention. The need for quality control of World Heritage site-specific products from States Parties was reaffirmed and considered indispensable.  

IX.37 A working group, composed of the Governments of Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America was established on a voluntary basis to continue working on this issue before the end of the session. The working group made amendments to the text to reflect the discussions of the Committee. The Delegate of the United States of America briefly presented the modifications made to the document. This new version of the document (attached as Annex XII to this report) was adopted by the Committee.

IX.38 The Chairperson briefly introduced the Fund-raising Guidelines and reminded the Committee that the "Internal Guidelines for Private Sector Fund-Raising in Favour of UNESCO" have been in use within UNESCO since 1997 but have not yet been adopted by the Executive Board. Therefore, the Chairperson proposed that the Committee ask the Centre to work in accordance with the "Internal Guidelines for Private Sector Fund-Raising in Favour of UNESCO". The Committee agreed with the proposal and then adopted the decision as formulated.

XIII.14 The Committee commended the Secretariat for the high quality and clarity of both the written document and the presentation. Expressing appreciation for the strategic approach of the five-part programme, the Committee remarked on the wide range of activities being undertaken by the Centre in spite of limited staff and financial resources and approved the contents of the proposed Strategic Plan for Documentation, Information and Education Activities. The Special Project for Young People's Participation in World Heritage Preservation and Promotion received wide acclaim and support from the Committee.

XIII.15 Cautious approach was however recommended by the Delegate of Canada in soliciting corporate sponsorship for the proposed cause-oriented public information campaign, stating that this should be done only in accordance with the Guidelines on the use of the World Heritage Emblem and Fund-raising. She also stated that activity A.4 on application of thematic categories to properties on the World Heritage List and Tentative Lists was premature. Other comments included the suggestion by the Delegate of Belgium for the Secretariat to make a presentation to the General Assembly of States Parties. The Delegates of Belgium and Finland stated that there should be a better definition of the respective role of the Secretariat and the States Parties in information activities and requested an analysis in the future identifying the objectives and expected results for both the States Parties and the Centre. They indicated that local resources should be used as much as possible.

XIII.16 The Delegate of Hungary expressed particular appreciation of the CD-ROMs on the nomination files and encouraged continued development in this area with appropriate attention paid to the format of the geographical information. He also proposed to incorporate in the future into the Strategic Plan a new World Heritage Fellowship Programme.

XIII.17 The Delegate of the United States of America commended the dynamic and rapid response of the Secretariat in the development of the radio strategy.

XIII.18 The Delegate of Lebanon expressed concern over the delay in the distribution of this working document and noted that it was not available on the Internet even last week.

XIII.19 The Representative of IUCN, while indicating full support for the Strategic Plan as well as the programme, suggested that greater focus be given on success stories and closer links between the global strategy and the information strategy. He also stated the need for an information strategy visà- vis the tourism sector and suggested links with groups such as the Green Globe, promoting sustainable tourism. He invited the Centre's participation in high profile IUCN events such as the 2000 World IUCN Congress to be held in Jordan and 2002 World Parks Congress.

XIII.20 The Representative of ICCROM suggested more focus on conservation in the Centre's information material, particularly in the Review and said that the advisory bodies can provide this input. With regard to the World Heritage Education Kit, ICCROM stated that the success of this initiative would depend upon its wide distribution in an affordable format, at little or no cost to teachers and other educators around the world. He indicated ICCROM's interest in being involved in preparing a distribution strategy of the World Heritage Education Kit.

XIII.21 Numerous delegates echoed the concern raised by France over the sustainability of the World Heritage Review. Being a co-publication with UNESCO, the Committee stated that the Review should aim to promote the Convention and to increase awareness of the conservation needs of the sites under its protection. The Review as it is lacks an editorial line and is no different from other travel and tourism magazines, and the need to develop its specificity was stressed. The Committee requested information on the actual sales figure rather than on the number of copies being printed and for a readership survey. Concerns were also expressed over the limited geographical reach of the Review as well as of the implication on staff time, especially if the periodicity is changed from a quarterly to a bimonthly. The Committee, however agreed to continue its support to ensure the quality control of the articles by approving US$ 25,000 for coordination and editing fees upon noting the statement of the Centre that the articles for the Review will also be disseminated on the web site as the World Heritage feature article series. Support for the publicity of the Review was not approved by the Committee that indicated that this should be done by the commercial partner and the distributors.

XIII.22 In responding to the comments on the Review, the Representative of the UNESCO Publishing Office (UPO) stated that it was in the interest of the commercial partners and distributors to publicize the Review and to maximize sales, hence there was no question of them trying to profit from the Committee's support. He informed the Committee that negotiations were underway for a Japanese and Korean edition of the Review and hoped that other language versions will follow. In response to queries concerning the expected financial break-even date, he stated that this could not be predicted and UPO hoped that the commercial partners would continue to absorb the deficit until it became self-financing.

XIII.23 The Director of the Centre agreed with the comments of IUCN regarding the need for a more pro-active approach to promote sustainable tourism. The section of sustainable tourism introduced into the Centre's recently redesigned web site, is an attempt in that direction.

XIII.24 The 1999 proposed activities and budget were approved for the total sum of US$ 385,000, which takes into account the following cuts: US$ 25,000 for co-ordination and editing fees of the World Heritage Review and US$ 5,000 for activity A.4; application of thematic categories to properties on the World Heritage List and Tentative Lists.

1. Welcomes the World Heritage Partnerships Initiative as a means to achieve, on an experimental basis, a new systematic approach to partnerships;

2. Acknowledges that the work undertaken in identifying partnerships and criteria for new World Heritage partnerships is in progress;

3. Invites the Director-General to further develop a regulatory framework for the Partnerships Initiative to be added to the Committee's guidelines relating to the use of the World Heritage name, emblem and patronage;

4. Encourages the Director-General to ensure that the Initiative supports the Strategic Objectives adopted by the Committee;

5.   Considers that funds generated through the World Heritage Partnerships Initiative should be channeled, to the extent possible, through the World Heritage Fund;

6. Requests the Director-General to ensure that the overheads charged on partnership contributions are appropriated to support the World Heritage Centre;

7. Emphasises that the overseeing authority for monitoring progress and performance of the World Heritage Partnerships Initiative rests with the Committee, and that the Initiative is launched on an experimental basis;

8. Welcomes the proposal to develop performance indicators for evaluating the Initiative for consideration by the Committee in 2003 and to submit progress reports, and invites the Director-General to submit to the Committee at its 30th session in 2006 an evaluation of the Initiative up to end of 2005.

1. Defers examination of document WHC-03/27.COM/20C - Section A to the 28th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2004.

[73]  See also Decision 27 COM 2.

1. Welcomes the Nordic World Heritage Foundation's partnership with UNESCO;

2. Requests the World Heritage Centre to ensure the coordination of the activities of the Nordic World Heritage Foundation with those of the Committee;

3. Agrees with the use of the World Heritage emblem by the Nordic World Heritage Foundation.

1. Requests the World Heritage Centre to provide a yearly report on the authorized use of the emblem to the World Heritage Committee in accordance with the Operational Guidelines (Annex 3 "Guidelines and Principles for the Use of the World Heritage Emblem" July 2002).

1. Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/15,
2. Recalling Decision 29 COM 13, adopted at its 29th session (Durban, 2005);
3. Expresses its appreciation for the results achieved and encourages the World Heritage Centre to continue work developed under the World Heritage Partnerships Initiative (World Heritage PACT);
4. Requests the World Heritage Centre, in preparing the next cycle of revisions to the Operational Guidelines, to submit to the 32nd session of the Committee, a discussion paper on new strategic directions for partnerships, with a particular emphasis on:
   1. Developing partnerships with the corporate sector,
   2. New modalities of generating income based on licensing,
   3. Commercial use of the World Heritage logo,
   4. The need to take geographical representation into account when developing partnerships;
5. Emphasizes the need to trademark the term “World Heritage”, and invites the Director-General to identify extra-budgetary funding to initiate this process ;
6. Encourages the Director-General to continue the development of new tools in support of the partnership development strategy.

1. Having examined Document WHC-10/34.COM/9A,

2. Adopts the Terms of Reference for the evaluation of the Global Strategy for a representative, balanced, and credible World Heritage List, by deleting Paragraph 1a;

3. Also adopts the Terms of Reference for the evaluation of the PACT initiative, changing the formulation of its Paragraph 5 by adding "and of their traceability" and by completing the Terms of Reference with the following evaluations:

a) Evaluate the contents of the respective engagements of the World Heritage Centre and its private sector partners and appreciate the equitable character of these engagements,

b) Evaluate the conditions of use of the emblem of the Convention by private sector partners in order to assess whether they correspond to the objectives and provisions of the Convention,

c) Evaluate the contribution of PACT in developing partnerships at the local and regional levels in order to identify the possibility of establishing such partnerships at these levels, as well as the need to provide guidelines in this respect.

1. Having examined Documents WHC-11/35.COM/5A and WHC-11/35.COM/INF.5A,

2. Recalling Decision 34 COM 5A adopted at its 34th session (Brasilia, 2010),

3. Takes note of the activities undertaken and of the partnerships established by the World Heritage Centre;

4. Also takes note with appreciation of the concrete contribution of the States Parties and all partners who, through their financial and/or technical support, contributed to the efforts to implement the Convention reported in the document WHC-11/35.COM/5A;

5. Reminds the World Heritage Centre of the necessity to elaborate, at each session of the World Heritage Committee, a report on envisaged and concluded partnerships and requests that it be completed with an evaluation of these partnerships based on relevant tools, in particular on the use of the emblem and the benefits received, in order to ensure strict compliance with the Convention's principles and objectives;

6. Requests the World Heritage Centre to continue improving its report by adding to the Periodic Reports:

a) a general comment on progress made and gaps identified at global and regional levels, at thematic level, at the level of different financing sources, and at the level of financial partners or cooperation with States Parties, other Conventions, civil society and the private sector,

b) a comprehensive inventory of pending decisions and the foreseen dates of implementation,

c) a provisional priority activities plan for the following year including the formulation of objectives and expected results, as well as indications on related resources (human and financial);

7. Takes note of the recommendations of the International Seminar on the Role of Religious Communities in the Management of World Heritage properties, organized in Kiev, Ukraine, in November 2010, and requests the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, to elaborate a thematic paper proposing to States Parties general guidance regarding the management of their cultural and natural heritage of religious interest, and in compliance with the national specificities, inviting States Parties to provide voluntary contributions to this end;   

8. Requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre to continue informing it on an annual basis on:

a) authorization granted by the World Heritage Centre on the use of the World Heritage emblem,

b) envisaged and concluded partnerships, with indications on the modalities and terms of such agreements,

and invites the Director to submit a draft of the new PACT Initiative Strategy, taking into account the results of the evaluation of the External Auditor on the PACT initiative for examination at its next session, one of its major objectives being the increase of resources to the World Heritage Fund to the benefit of International Assistance.

1. Having examined Document WHC-11/35.COM/5F,

2. Recalling Decision 34 COM 5F.2 adopted at its 34th session (Brasilia, 2010),

3. Thanks the Government of Switzerland for its offer of financial and technical support to specific activities supporting the Steering Group guiding the development of the new and inclusive Programme on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism, and welcomes its offer to host an expert meeting in Sils/Engadine, Switzerland, in October 2011;

4. Also thanks the Governments of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Nordic World Heritage Foundation for organizing a Nordic-Baltic regional workshop in Visby, Gotland, Sweden in October 2010 on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism;

5. Requests the World Heritage Centre to transmit to States Parties the draft of the new Programme on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism for consultation and to present it to the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session in 2012.

1. Having examined Documents WHC-11/35.COM/9A and WHC-11/35.COM/INF.9A ,

2. Recalling Decision 34 COM 9A , adopted at its 34th session (Brasilia, 2010),

3. Also recalling Resolution 17 GA 9 , adopted by the 17th session of the General Assembly (UNESCO, 2009),

4. Requests the World Heritage Centre to transmit the documents to the 18th session of the General Assembly (UNESCO, 2011) for examination.

1. Having examined Document WHC-11/35.COM/13A,

2. Takes note of the progress made by the Informal Working Group on the use of the World Heritage emblem;

3. Recalls that Chapter VIII of the Operational Guidelines on the World Heritage Emblem remains in vigour;

4. Requests the World Heritage Centre, together with the Advisory Bodies, to continue working with the Informal Working Group on the World Heritage Emblem in order to: 1. Prepare, if necessary, complementary guidance on the use of the World Heritage Emblem, including a draft table of uses of the Emblem; 2. circulate this guidance 6 weeks before the 36th session for consideration by States Parties and site authorities and seek their feedback; and 3. to report back to the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee on the progress made.

2. Recalling Decisions 34 COM 5A and Decision 35 COM 5A respectively,

3. Also recalling Resolution 18 GA 8 adopted by the 18th General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention by which the recommendations of the External Auditor on the Partnership for Conservation Initiative (PACT) were endorsed,

4. Considering that the open-ended working group in charge of producing an implementation plan for the recommendations of the External Auditor will be meeting prior to the 37th session of the Committee to discuss the recommendations on the PACT Initiative,

5. Mindful that the UNESCO’s Policy Framework for Strategic Partnerships will be presented for consideration to the Executive Board at its 190th session,

6. Takes note of the proposed strategy to improve the development of partnerships for World Heritage with the private sector, their implementation and their evaluation through adequate tools and guidelines, as contained in document WHC-12/36.COM/5A.2;

7. Requests the World Heritage Centre to present, at its 37th session, a revised PACT Initiative strategy that takes into account:

a) the Plan of Action proposed by the open-ended working group on the recommendations of the External Auditor concerning PACT,

b) the decision adopted during the 190th Executive Board session regarding the Organization’s Framework for Strategic Partnerships,

c) the debates of the 36th session of the Committee;

8.Requests the World Heritage Centre to continue to keep it informed with regard to the partnerships in an analytical manner.

1. Having examined document WHC-12/36.COM/5D,

2. Recalling Decisions 32 COM 10, 32 COM 10A and 34 COM 5F.1 adopted at its 32nd (Quebec City, 2008) and 34th (Brasilia, 2010) sessions respectively,

3. Welcomes the progress report made on the implementation of the World Heritage Thematic Programmes;

4. Requests the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, and with the support of interested States Parties to continue its efforts to implement the activities foreseen under each of these programmes in 2012-2013;

5. Expresses its appreciation to the Government of Spain for its financial commitment and support given by other States Parties to the programme Human Evolution: Adaptations, Dispersals and Social Developments (HEADS) and encourages the development of the category 2 Centre for Rock Art in Spain to enhance fruitful international cooperation in rock art research, conservation and management;

6. Further requests States Parties, site managers and research institutions in the Africa Region to strengthen collaboration in support of human evolution-related research, conservation and awareness-raising activities and in pursuance to the activities which have taken place in the framework of HEADS in the Region;

7. Also welcomes financial and technical support provided by States Parties and the International Astronomical Union for Thematic Initiative “AstronomyandWorld Heritage”, since 2003 and also encourages cooperation between the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, specialized agencies and relevant interdisciplinary scientific initiatives towards the elaboration of a Global Thematic Study on Heritage of Science and Technology, including studies and research on technological heritage connected with space exploration;

8. Further encourages States Parties, international organizations and other donors to contribute to the thematic programmes and initiative and also requests an updated report on Thematic Programmes to the World Heritage Committee at its 38th session in 2014.

1.  Having examined document WHC-12/36.COM/5E,

2. Recalling Decision 34 COM 5F.2 adopted at its 34th session (Brasilia, 2010),

3. Welcomes the finalization of the new and inclusive Programme on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism and notes with appreciation the participatory process for its development, objectives and approach towards implementation;

4. Also welcomes the contribution of the Steering Group comprised of States Parties representatives from the UNESCO Electoral Groups, the World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies (IUCN, ICOMOS, ICCROM), Switzerland and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) in the elaboration of the Programme;

5.  Thanks the Government of Switzerland, the United Nations Foundation and the Nordic World Heritage Foundation for their technical and financial support to the elaboration of the Programme;

6.  Notes with appreciation the contribution provided by the States Parties and other consulted stakeholders during the consultation phase of the Programme;

7.  Takes note of the results of the Expert Meeting in Sils/Engadin (Switzerland), from 18 to 22 October 2011 contributing to the Programme, and further thanks the Government of Switzerland for hosting the Expert Meeting;

8.  Adopts the World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme;

9.  Requests the World Heritage Centre to refine the Draft Action Plan 2013-2015 in an Annex to the present document and to implement the Programme with a Steering  Group comprised of representatives of the UNESCO Electoral Groups, donor agencies, the Advisory Bodies, UNWTO and in collaboration with interested stakeholders;

10.  Notes that financial resources for the coordination and implementation of the Programme do not exist and also requests States Parties to support the implementation of the World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme;

11. Further requests the World Heritage Centre to report biennially on the progress of the implementation of the Programme;

12.  Notes with appreciation the launch of the Programme foreseen at the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention event in Kyoto, Japan, in November 2012