The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-08/32.COM/11E,
2. Recalling Decisions 25 COM VII.25-27 adopted at its 25th session (Helsinki, 2001), 7 EXT.COM 5 and 7 EXT.COM 5A.1 adopted at its 7th extraordinary session (UNESCO, 2004), 29 COM 11.A adopted at its 29th session (Durban, 2005), 30 COM 11G adopted at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006), and 31 COM 11D1 adopted at its 31st session (Christchurch, 2007),
3. Emphasizing the pivotal importance of Statements of Outstanding Universal Value in all World Heritage processes;
4. Thanks the States Parties which participated in the Field Testing of the Revised Questionnaire;
5. Congratulates the Working Group on the simplification of the Periodic Reporting Questionnaire and setting up of indicators and the World Heritage Centre, for their work on the periodic reporting process, and welcomes the Revised Periodic Reporting Questionnaire (Sections I and II) and its web-based application, as presented in Document WHC-08/32.COM/INF.11E, for use during the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting;
6. Decides to launch the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting in the Arab States Region;
7. Thanks ALECSO for its offer to translate the revised Questionnaire into Arabic and requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre to identify extra budgetary funding to ensure the translation of the entire second Cycle of Periodic Reporting for the Arab States Region into Arabic;
8. Thanks the Kingdom of Bahrain for its offer to host a workshop of States Parties in the Arab Region to launch the Periodic Reporting process in the region, and encourages other regions to conduct similar workshops on the new periodic reporting process;
9. Requests all States Parties, in cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, to finalize all missing Statements of Outstanding Universal Value for properties in their territory as soon as possible, and to do so before the beginning of the second Cycle of Periodic Reporting for the relevant Region;
10. Requests the World Heritage Centre to continue the Retrospective Inventory as the basis to prefill the Questionnaire at the outset of the second Cycle of periodic reporting in each region;
11. Also requests the World Heritage Centre to seek extrabudgetary funding for the Working Group to develop indicators for World Heritage properties and, if possible, to report on the progress made on this issue to the Committee at its 33rd session in 2009.