1. Adopts the Rules of Procedure as revised by the World Heritage Committee and included as Annex II to this document.
2. Decides that it enter immediately into effect, with the exception of Rule 13.1. and for which the following transition provisions will be used:
   1. At the beginning of its 27th ordinary session (Suzhou, June/July 2003), the World Heritage Committee will elect a Bureau whose term will start at that session until the opening of the 28th ordinary session of the Committee (June 2004);
   2. At the beginning of its 28th ordinary session (June/July 2004), the World Heritage Committee will elect a Bureau whose term will start at that session and will last until the end of the 29th ordinary session (June 2005). Among the members of the Bureau, the Committee will designate a first Chairperson whose six-month mandate will extend from the 28th ordinary session (June 2004) until 31 December 2004, as well as a second Chairperson whose six-month mandate will extend from 1 January 2005 to the end of the 29th ordinary session in June 2005;
   3. New Rule 1 of the Rules of Procedure will enter into force starting from the 29th ordinary session of the Committee (June 2005).
3. Requests the World Heritage Centre to include a Table of Contents to make the revised Rules of Procedure more user-friendly, and to arrange for the printing and distribution of the revised Rules of Procedure in advance of the 27th session of the World Heritage Committee (Suzhou, China, 29 June -5 July 2003).

32. After examining the in-depth study, the Committee welcomed the conclusions and recom­mendations formulated therein, as endorsed by the Executive Board at its 122nd session (decision 5.1.4) and, in particular, the two recommendations calling for closer links between the sites included in the World Heritage List and those which were the subject of international campaigns, and which read as follows

"6.5.2 If the Member State is not a State Party to the 1972 World Heritage Convention, to take action so that it is eligible to seek inclusion of the site(s) or monument(s) it wishes to safeguard on the World Heritage List.

6.5.3 If an International Campaign has been undertaken on behalf of a Member State not yet signatory to the World Heritage Convention, that State should become a State Party and submit the cultural property subject to a campaign to the World Heritage Committee for inclusion on the World Heritage List."

The Committee requested the Secretariat to report to it at its next session on progress achieved in implementing both recommendations.

50. One member suggested that the Committee consider recommending to all States Parties at the next General Assembly that the Assembly adopt a procedure whereby, prior to the election of States to the Committee, the Chairman of the General Assembly would, in the interest of equi­table rotation, call on all those States completing their term of office on the Committee to consider waiting two years before standing for re-election for a further six year term.

51. Although aware of the need for rotation in the membership of the Committee, other members considered that it was not proper for the Committee to make a recommendation on this question to the General Assembly, since States could not be prevented from submitting their candidature in accordance with established electoral procedures. As there was no clear consensus on this matter, the Committee decided not to make any recommendation to the General Assembly.

52. The Committee fully recognized the need to ensure an equitable representation of the different regions and cultures o f the world in the composition of the Committee, as stipulated in Article 8 (2) of the Convention.

43. The Committee agreed that there was a need to ensure an equitable representation of the different regions and cultures of the world, as is stated in Article 8, paragraph 1 of the Convention. It requested the Secretariat to present the Bureau and the Committee with proposals which would respond to this need and which could eventually be adopted by the 7th General Assembly of States Parties in 1989.

66. As regards rotation of States Parties within the Committee, the Committee felt that the Secretariat's proposal was acceptable. However, some flexibility might be required, especially to take into account the preferences of States Parties within the same region. One member stressed that the principle of rotation was not a mechanical exercise and that it should be applied taking into account the varied technical qualifications that representatives of States Parties from all regions could bring to the Committee, which was an essentially technical body. He added that State Parties seeking a seat on the Committee should approach this matter with a sense of this responsibility. Several members also reiterated the suggestion made earlier that the Committee seek ways of financing the participation of competent representatives of the least developed countries, but stressed that strict criteria should be developed for this purpose.

67. With respect to equitable representation of the various regions and cultures within the Committee, it was felt that a first priority should be an increase in the number of States Members of the Committee. This might be the basis for a mechanism resulting in more equitable representation. Several suggestions as to this number were discussed and it was decided that the number of members could be increased to 36, following the example of the Intergovernmental Committee for the World Decade for Cultural Development, the membership of which reflects the present principles of representation for Committees of this kind within Unesco.

The observer from a State Party not currently a member of the Committee expressed his disagreement with the idea of a fixed number of seats for each region. He stressed that a certain number of States Parties could bring to bear on the tasks facing the Committee, apart from their rich cultural and natural heritage, a wealth of experience in the conservation of cultural and natural property.

68. The representative of the Director General reminded the Committee that increasing the number of members would imply a revision of the Convention pursuant to its Article 37. The Committee noted the protracted procedure for this purpose defined by the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference. However, it felt it highly desirable that the Secretariat examine means to reduce the length of this procedure. It was therefore decided to request the Secretariat to further study the matter of equitable representation of the various regions and cultures within the Committee, along the lines referred to above. In consultation with Unesco's Legal Adviser new proposals should be drafted and distributed to members of the Bureau for comment prior to discussion of this matter at the June 1989 session of the Bureau. Noting that the expansion of the Committee was likely to be a long process one member suggested that in accordance with Article 10 of the Convention, the Committee might also explore the idea of establishing a body in which a number of States Parties not members of the Committee might contribute more directly to the work of the Committee.

41. The question of thematic studies was again raised, several delegates having pointed out the interdependence of these studies and the global study. The work undertaken through these two initiatives could be mutually reinforcing and could lead to the presentation of an overall policy for implementing the World Heritage Convention at the special session of the Committee which will commemorate the twentieth anniversary of its adoption. In particular, a study on mixed sites and rural landscapes should be undertaken as a priority, according to several delegates (Canada, France, Greece, Italy and Mexico) who offered to participate in a working group that might be created for this purpose. In this respect, the representative of Italy stressed that in countries of the Old World, natural properties have always been strongly modified by man and that it was necessary to take this human presence into account when considering the integrity of these properties.

42. The Committee took note with satisfaction of a delegate's offer to place an expert from the archeological service of his country at the disposal of the Secretariat to help the work of the global study.

43. The Committee took note of document SC-89/CONF.004/INF.4 describing the progress made in drawing up a global indicative list of geological and fossil sites which have the potential to meet natural World Heritage criteria (i) and (ii). The Committee was glad to learn that the Secretariat had contacted Unesco's International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP) and the International Union for the Geological Sciences (IUGS) and had engaged a high level consultant who had drawn up a preliminary indicative list. This preliminary list was being circulated to more than 150 experts in the field of geology around the world and would be finalized by the IGCP and IUGS in co-operation with IUCN in February 1990. The Committee welcomed the co-operation of the geological scientists' community in this endeavour and noted that the global indicative list would be presented to the Bureau at its 14th session.

51. The Committee congratulated the Greek and Bulgarian experts for their in-depth treatment of the areas in question and thanked them for their participation in the study, which was described as being of high quality and, indeed, of elegance.

52. Frameworks for national historic monuments had been developed in the U.S.A. and Canada and one of the delegates offered to make these frameworks and some account of their methodology available to the Secretariat. Another delegate commented on the importance of having a mixed temporal, cultural and thematic approach. It was suggested that the global study should include landscapes.

53. Another delegate, in expressing appreciation of the work done, said that her country would seek to contribute to the study in its future elaboration. The Secretariat explained that it intended to proceed by establishing the framework first with the assistance of experts and it was noted that an amount had been included in the budget from the various regions for this purpose. The possible contribution of expertise by States Parties was warmly welcomed and, where such contribution may not be possible, the Secretariat would in any case appreciate the names of appropriate experts whom the Secretariat could approach to work on the project.

54. Another delegate emphasized that it was not just a question of providing the framework but that it should be a carefully considered one. Due allowance should be made 'for the time and cost of such studies which should not be expected to be done in haste without adequate reflection: Furthermore, it is important that experts in the States Parties Provide information for the study since there is much available in languages which are not so easily accessible.

55. Another expert suggested reference to a specialist in the Institut de l'Afrique Noire and the Secretariat mentioned that there had already been discussion with Mr. Konare, President of ICOM, a historian and archaeologist, about the project.

56. The Committee thanked the Secretariat for the work done on the project.

57. The Committee also noted that the study of geological sites conducted jointly by the Unesco International Geological Correlation Programme and the International Union of Geological Sciences has resulted in a preliminary global tentative list of geological sites of outstanding universal value. This list was to be revised early in 1991 by a team of experts meeting at Unesco headquarters. The results of the study would then be finalized and made available for the next session of the World Heritage Committee.

VII.2 Following in-depth discussions, the Committee adopted, with a certain number of revisions, the conclusions, goals and the recommendations with which they had been presented, as constituting not only a strategy as such, but strategic orientations for the future, aimed at the different actors concerned with the implementation of the Convention, e.g. the States Parties, the World Heritage Committee, the advisory organizations and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

VII.3 These strategic orientations are presented as Annex II to the present report. The Committee requested the World Heritage Centre to send them to all States Parties to the Convention. The Committee also requested the World Heritage Centre, with the assistance of the UNESCO Legal Office, to prepare draft revisions to the Guidelines for the implementation of the Convention reflecting its decisions, and to send them to all Committee members before the end of March 1993. These draft revisions of the Guidelines should more particularly take into account the proposal presented by United States of America as well as by Italy. These draft revisions will be submitted to the Bureau of the Committee at its seventeenth session for review.

1. Having examined Documents WHC-09/17.GA/9 and WHC-09/17.GA/INF.9
2. Noting that the World Heritage Convention is approaching universal ratification and that its 40th anniversary is to be celebrated in 2012 and, therefore, that it is appropriate to reflect on the successes of the Convention and also how it can best be implemented to meet the emerging challenges and opportunities it faces while also increasing its relevance and engagement with communities around the world,
3. Considering the results of the Workshop to reflect on the Future of the World Heritage Convention, which took place from 25 to 27 February 2009 at UNESCO Headquarters, and taking into account the subsequent discussions of the consultative group established by the World Heritage Committee during its 33rd Session, held in Seville in June 2009;
4. Welcomes the progress report on the implementation of the Global Strategy for a Credible, Representative and Balanced World Heritage List from 1994 to 2009 (Document WHC-09/17.GA/9 Part III) while observing that improved indicators and analysis would be necessary for future reports of progress achieved in the framework of the Global Strategy;
5. Notes that the draft vision presented to the General Assembly (Document WHC-09/17.GA/INF.9) should take into account suggestions made during the debate on this issue at the 17th session of the General Assembly so that it could be used as a basis for further discussion by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th and 35th sessions and by the General Assembly of States Parties at its 18th session in 2011;
6. Calls upon States Parties to cooperate in continuing the process of reflection on the future of the World Heritage Convention, addressing inter alia the following important topics:
   1. the relationship between the World Heritage Convention, conservation and sustainable development;
   2. the credibility of the public image of the Convention, awareness raising and community involvement in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention;
   3. capacity building for States Parties, particularly for developing countries and other stakeholders, to implement the World Heritage Convention;
   4. strategic management and the Global Strategy for a Credible, Representative and Balanced World Heritage List;
   5. the efficiency and transparency of decision-making of the statutory organs of the World Heritage Convention;
   6. working relationships with other relevant Conventions and UNESCO programmes;
7. Welcomes the development of a draft Action Plan, recognizing that further work is required to both prioritize actions, as well as develop an effective implementation of the Plan;
8. Requests that the views of all States Parties related to the identification of priorities in the Action Plan be solicited by the World Heritage Centre prior to the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2010;
9. Further requests that discussion take place during the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2010 involving all interested States Parties to the Convention to prioritize the actions in the Action Plan based on input from States Parties, to reorganize it on the basis of the strategic objectives (5 Cs) and to report back to the General Assembly of States Parties at its 18th session in 2011;
10. Invites States Parties to take the initiative in convening expert meetings on the above issues with a view to identifying key policy questions for discussion during the 34th and 35th sessions of the World Heritage Committee and submit them for consideration and adoption by the General Assembly at its 18th session in 2011;
11. Welcomes the offer of Australia and Bahrain to host an expert meeting in Bahrain on the decision-making procedures of the statutory organs of the World Heritage Convention to identify opportunities for increasing the efficiency and transparency of these procedures, and requests the World Heritage Centre, in cooperation with these two States Parties, to launch and facilitate consultations on the meeting's scope and agenda for discussion by the World Heritage Committee at its 34th session in 2010;
12. Also welcomes the offer of Brazil to host in 2010 an expert meeting on the relationship between the World Heritage Convention, conservation and sustainable development;
13. Further welcomes the offer by Australia and Japan to host such a meeting pursuant to paragraph 14 of the Decision 33 COM 14A.2 in Document WHC-09/17.GA/INF.9 including the issues of Tentative Lists and International Assistance for improving the process of nominations;
14. Calls upon the World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and other partners to increase significantly their support to States Parties, particularly less developed countries, in the identification of cultural, natural and mixed properties for Tentative Lists as well as in the harmonization of their Tentative Lists taking into account existing relevant studies;
15. Requests the World Heritage Centre to convene in 2010, through extra-budgetary funding, a meeting of the existing unesco category 2 centres active on World Heritage issues together with representatives of relevant UNITWIN networks, UNESCO Chairs, other regional and national research centres at the regional and national levels and graduate programmes in order to facilitate their activities and to strengthen their regional relevance;
16. Also requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to help facilitate the above activities and to provide the General Assembly at its 18th session in 2011 with a summary of the work undertaken in relation to the reflection on the future of the Convention, including an 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), based on indicators and approaches to be developed during the 34th and 35th sessions of the World Heritage Committee.

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.

A.2 Second Global Strategy Meeting (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 29 July-1 August 1996)
IX.2 This meeting, decided by the World Heritage Committee during its nineteenth session, was prepared by the Centre and ICOMOS. Its goal was to improve the representativity of the World Heritage List. It was preceded by a meeting, on 6 May 1996, of an international Scientific Committee.

IX.3 The Addis Ababa meeting was attended by representatives from seven countries (Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Niger and Uganda). It was organized around four themes:

• The Convention, the notion of cultural heritage today and African heritage
• Archaeological heritage
• Historical heritage, human settlements and living cultures
• Religious places, places of technical production, cultural itineraries and trade routes.

IX.4 The African experts presented a report on major cultural heritage in their countries, emphasizing important sites. They confirmed and illustrated the extraordinary wealth and diversity of cultural heritage of this regional of Africa. Through the examples presented significant groupings became evident. Three of these types of cultural sites requiring specific approaches were identified during discussions:

• archaeological and historical heritage
• traditional architecture and material traces of living non-monumental cultures, including technical heritage and unbuilt sacred places
• routes, itineraries, vast natural zones where traditional populations live.

IX.5 At the end of this meeting, the participants concluded that it was unnecessary presently to modify the cultural criteria in their actual form, but that in the application of the Convention account should be taken of: i) the total interaction of the nature-culture continuum in African societies; ii) the spiritual and sacred heritage and its physical supports; iii) the specificities of cultural landscapes and exchange routes in Africa. They thanked the Committee for their assistance in the organization of the meeting which allowed them to become more familiar with the Convention and provide a basis for reflection concerning the specificities of African cultural heritage.

IX.6 Publication of the proceedings of the meeting in the form of a bilingual scientific publication, in collaboration with the African Research Centre of the University of Paris I is under preparation. The synthetic report of the Addis Abeba meeting was distributed as Information Document WHC-96/CONF.201/INF.7.

XIV.2 The German Delegation drew the Committee's attention to an exhibition on World Cultural Heritage at the "World Fair Expo 2000" and to a seminar being planned with Centre involvement, which will be held in Hildesheim on the occasion of the 25th anniversary. The Committee expressed interest and support for this effort.

XIV.3 The Delegate of Italy noted that the proposed US$ 40,000 for the scientific and technical meeting of experts had not been accepted during the Committee's earlier budget considerations. In the further discussion on the proposed experts' meeting, the Committee reflected a general concern for experts' meetings being held without political decision-makers participating. Several delegates indicated that such meetings should not always be confined to the same experts from the Advisory Bodies as in the past, and, to the extent possible, should be broadened to include participants from the proposed states Parties' "lists of experts" which was proposed by the Delegate of Italy. This proposal was strongly supported by other delegations during preliminary budget considerations. Several delegations noted that they had unfortunate experiences with repeated use of the same experts. They also noted that there was the need for an open selection process for experts to avoid repeating past mistakes.

XIV.4 The Observer of Hungary indicated that, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary, they would propose to host a subregional World Heritage Workshop. The Delegate of the United States indicated that it could provide space at the Presidium of San Francisco if anyone wished to hold a workshop there. In addition, the United States is considering a World Heritage Workshop for World Heritage Site Managers. In such a case, they would invite World Heritage site managers from other countries.

XIV.5 The Committee concluded that it did not support neither a thorough review of the implementation of the Convention nor the drafting of a strategic plan for the" future as proposed, and did not allocate the funding required for this purpose.

VII.2 The Director of the Centre took the floor and described the content of the Working Document and summarized the decisions to be taken that he proposed for submission to the Committee. The decision concerning the technical questions, amended by Benin, were adopted as follows:

The Committee requested that the World Heritage Centre and the advisory bodies continue to take into consideration the work of the Consultative Body on technical questions (application of cultural criteria (i) and (vi), examination of authenticity, imbalance of the World Heritage List and the implementation of the Global Strategy) in particular with regard to the implementation of the Global Strategy, the resolution of the General Assembly concerning the ways and means to ensure a representative World Heritage List, and the meetings on the Rationalisation of Operational Guidelines which should be held in the United Kingdom in April 2000 and the meeting on Integrity/Authenticity in the African context which should be held in Africa in May 2000.

VII.3 Following the adoption of the above, several members of the Committee intervened to request that discussion on this item of the agenda be conducted in a global manner as the different elements submitted for discussion are closely linked. Some delegates requested that a special working group be rapidly formed so that it may submit concrete proposals to this Committee session.

VII.4 Canada, supported by several delegations, of which Belgium - who proposed themes to be studied by this special working group - Australia, France and the United Kingdom suggested that the working group concentrate first of all on the finalisation of the work of the Consultative Body, created in 1996 by the Committee. The Delegate of Canada also proposed that the special working group should not discuss the subject of representativity of the List, which should be studied within the context of the Global Strategy. This proposal was endorsed by the delegates.

VII.5 With regard to the composition of the small working group, delegates indicated that it should be geographically representative of States Parties to the Convention whilst being limited in number. It was also suggested that the advisory bodies to the Convention be represented.

VII.6 At the end of the debate that discussed many aspects of the terms of reference of the working group, the Chairperson of the Committee suggested the following composition of the group that would meet at the end of the plenary session and would submit a draft decision on detailed terms of reference of the future task force to the Committee: Canada (Chairperson), Australia, Belgium, Hungary, Mexico, Morocco, South Africa and Thailand, and the advisory bodies (ICOMOS, IUCN and ICCROM). The Secretariat was provided by the World Heritage Centre. The Committee suggested that the working group should discuss the following items, among others: the working methods of the Committee and its Bureau; proliferation of the statutory meetings; the role of the advisory bodies; the calendar of nominations; the human and financial resources of the World Heritage Centre.

VII.7 These proposals were approved by the Committee and the Chairperson requested that the working group submit its deliberations to the Committee on Thursday, 2 December during the afternoon session. The Chairperson proposed that delegations wishing to contribute to the working group provide their proposals to the Chairperson or their representatives in the Task Force.

VII.8 The working group met twice and formulated a proposal for the terms of reference of the task force. These were submitted to the Committee and, after discussions were amended and approved. During the debate, delegates pointed out the need to keep the composition of the task force open to States Parties wishing to contribute to its work. The approved terms of reference are the following:

TASK FORCE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION

At the request of the World Heritage Committee, a working group chaired by Canada submits to the Committee proposals relating to the composition and terms of reference of a Task Force aimed at improving the implementation of the World Heritage Convention.

Composition of the Task Force: The same as the working group established by the Committee in Marrakesh 1999, chaired by Canada and including Australia, Belgium, Hungary, Morocco, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, and the advisory bodies (ICOMOS, ICCROM and IUCN) and a representative of the World Heritage Centre. Australia agreed to act as rapporteur.

Terms of reference of the Task Force: To identify and propose for consideration of the Bureau in June 2000 priority practical measures for more effective operation of the Convention, taking account of pressures affecting the Convention over the coming years. Those measures, some of which should be applicable in preparation of and during the Committee meeting of December 2000, will focus on:

• The organization and running of the statutory meetings,
• The procedures for decision making,
• The information and documentation management,
• The Operational Guidelines.

The Task Force will take into account and further build upon all discussions in previous General Assembly, Committee and Bureau meetings (see WHC-99/CONF.209/9), the management review and financial audit, and proposals made by State Parties.

Working methods: The Task Force will operate in a way that maximizes the opportunity for State Party input. A concise draft paper will be circulated by March 2000 and comments will be sought by fax and email. The draft paper will be posted on the UNESCO homepage.

Possible further developments: After having considered the proposals of the Task Force, the Bureau, at its meeting of June 2000, will recommend for Committee consideration a possible new working group to reflect in depth on the objectives and fundamental priorities in implementing the Convention.

1. Taking into account rule 20 of the Rules of Procedure of the World Heritage Committee, on the creation of consultative bodies,

2. Welcoming the Chairperson's summary Workshop to reflect the Future of the World Heritage Convention that was held at UNESCO Headquarters from 25 to 27 February 2009,

3. Recognizing the need for further reflection on this issue,

4. Establishes a Working Group on the Reflection on the Future of the World Heritage Convention as a Consultative Body that shall meet for the duration of its 33rd session, with a specific mandate to:

a) review the outcome of the above mentioned workshop;

b) formulate its recommendations thereon; and

c) report back on this issue to the Committee at is plenary session.

1. Having examined Document WHC-09/33.COM/14A,

2. Recalling Decision 32 COM 10 adopted at its 32nd Session (Quebec City, 2008);

3. Notes that the World Heritage Convention is approaching universal ratification and its fortieth anniversary in 2012, and therefore that it is appropriate to reflect on the successes of the Convention and also how it can best evolve to meet the emerging challenges it faces while also increasing its relevance and engagement with communities around the world;

4. Expresses its appreciation to the States Parties of Australia, Brazil, Israel, Switzerland and the Netherlands and the UNESCO 'Aid to developing countries' Fund for supporting the Workshop to reflect on the Future of the World Heritage Convention (25-27 February 2009, UNESCO headquarters);

5. Recognizes the participation of State Party experts and representatives of the Advisory Bodies and non-governmental organizations in this Workshop, including through written submissions, in this valuable, inclusive and transparent ongoing process;

6. Welcomes the additional positive discussion that occurred on this matter at the Committee's 33rd session (Seville, 2009);

7. Notes in particular the good progress that was made in developing a Draft Vision for implementation of the Convention, which reflects and builds on the objectives of Credibility, Conservation, Capacity building, Communication and Communities;

8. Decides that this Draft Vision (Annex 1) and Document WHC-09/33.COM/14A should be presented to the General Assembly and the next session of the Committee as a basis for further discussion;

9. Notes that the submissions from State Parties and others to the February 2009 Workshop, and the background documents prepared for this workshop are available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/futureoftheconvention/ for the information of States Parties;

10. Decides that it would be useful to develop an overall strategic plan to guide the implementation of the World Heritage Convention over the next decade, taking into consideration, inter alia, the objectives of the Convention, the principles expressed in the Budapest Declaration, the Global Strategy, and the concepts expressed in the Draft Vision, including those related to sustainable development;

11. Notes also that the Consultative Body continued consideration of possible elements of a future Action Plan, and decides that further discussion of the draft Action Plan (Annex 2) should occur at the 34th session of the Committee, in addition to making the draft Action Plan available to the General Assembly for its information;

12. Decides however that there are several high priority short to medium term activities that should be commenced immediately, as set out in the following paragraphs;

13. Requests the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, and with input from interested State Parties and external stakeholders, to jointly develop an inclusive plan of action to increase community awareness of the value of world heritage and engagement in the work of the Convention, including through the identification of best practice examples and a communication toolkit to assist States Parties in these activities at a national and local level;

14. Requests the World Heritage Centre to convene, with the support of interested States Parties, a process to explore and develop recommendations for consideration of the Committee at its 34th session on creative approaches, including through the Tentative List process, that might reduce the number of properties that experience significant problems;

15. Further requests that this process also explores and develop recommendations on creative approaches that will assist States Parties and property managers in effectively responding to the range of problems that emerge for inscribed properties;

16. Reiterates its encouragement to States Parties, with the support and cooperation of the Advisory Bodies and other States Parties, to develop and finalize Statements of Outstanding Universal Value for all World Heritage properties for which they are responsible, and notes the importance of ensuring that these Statements are subsequently assessed as expeditiously as possible;

17. Requests the World Heritage Centre to undertake a feasibility study to further explore the concept and implications of holding two sessions of the Committee each year, in addition to exploring other options for more effectively and efficiently managing the increasing workload of the Committee, including by drawing on the experience of other multilateral conventions;

18. Requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with States Parties, to investigate options for increasing financial support for the objectives of the Convention, including but not limited to, voluntary State Party contributions, fundraising, partnerships, Regional Centres, regional funds, bilateral and multilateral assistance, and increased UNESCO support for the Regular Budget, and

19. Requests the chair of the Consultative Body to report to the General Assembly of States Parties on all of the above as part of his report on the reflection on the future of the World Heritage Convention.

1. Having examined Document WHC-10/34.COM/5D,

2. Recalling Decisions 32 COM 10 and 33 COM 14A.2, adopted at its 32nd (Quebec City, 2008) and 33rd (Seville, 2009) sessions respectively,

3. Thanks the State Party of Brazil for supporting the organization of an expert meeting on the relations between the World Heritage Convention, conservation and sustainable development, held in Paraty (Brazil) from 29 to 31 March 2010;

4. Welcomes the outcomes of the above-mentioned meeting and agrees that it would be desirable to further consider, in the implementation of the Convention, policies and procedures that maintain the Outstanding Universal Value of properties, and also contribute to sustainable development; 

5. Also welcomes the proposed Action Plan for 2012 developed during the Expert Meeting at Paraty and presented in the above-mentioned Document, and encourages to reflect and to pursue the efforts to strengthen linkages between the World Heritage Convention and other relevant multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs);

6. Requests the World Heritage Centre, in close collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, to pursue the study of the revision of the Operational Guidelines, to integrate sustainable development, and to further consider these matters within the framework of the reflection on the Future of the Convention;

7. Also requests the World Heritage Centre, in close collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, to seek extra-budgetary funding to organize, within the framework of the reflection on the Future of the Convention, a consultative meeting on "World Heritage and Sustainable Development" with all States Parties and secretariats of the concerned MEAs, before the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2012, and further requests the World Heritage Centre, within the limits of its capacity, to seek extra-budgetary funding for the implementation of the other activities mentioned in the Action Plan for 2012 presented in Document WHC-10/34.COM/5D;

8. Also requests the World Heritage Centre to identify opportunities, of potential collaboration with the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme (MAB), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other MEAs, and taking into account the needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), in the form of pilot projects to address the relation between conservation and sustainable development at regional/ecosystem scales;

9. Further requests the World Heritage Centre to report on the progress accomplished in the implementation of the above for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 35th session in 2011.

1. Having examined document WHC-10/34.COM/5E,

2. Notes with interest the above-mentioned document;

3. Invites the World Heritage Centre to strengthen the links between the 1972 Convention and 2005 Convention on the Safeguarding and Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions;

4. Also invites all States Parties to the 1972 Convention to become party to other standard-setting instruments of UNESCO in the field of culture, and to coordinate the initiatives they develop for the implementation of the different conventions;

5. Recalls its Decisions 28 COM 12 (Suzhou, 2004) and 7 EXT.COM 9 (UNESCO, 2004) requesting an enhanced collaboration between the Secretariats of the Conventions in the field of culture, in respect of their specificities;

6. Encourages the information exchanges and the participation at committee sessions of the different conventions;

7. Also notes the outcome of the "International Conference on Cultural and Biological Diversity for Development", which took place in Montreal (Canada) from 8 to 10 June 2010, with the participation of the 1972, 2003 and 2005 Convention Secretariats, as well as the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992).