Decision 13 COM XII.33-37

Situation of the World Heritage Fund and Budget for 1990

33. The Committee examined document SC-89/CONF.004/8 presenting the status of contributions to the World Heritage Fund for the years 1981-83, 1984-85, 1986-87 and 1988­-89, the status of implementation of international assistance projects approved in 1988 and 1989, as well as a statement on the use of the budget approved by the Committee at its 12th session for 1989.

34. The Committee noted that there continued to be certain delays in the payment of obligatory and voluntary contributions and encouraged the Secretariat to continue its efforts to obtain the outstanding payments, which were usually for very modest amounts for each State Party. In this respect, the Committee recalled Article 16(5) of the Convention whereby "States Parties which are in arrears with their payments for a given year and the calendar year immediately preceding it shall not be eligible for elections to the Committee in that year". This mechanism had served in general as a stimulus for timely and full payments. The Committee decided that henceforth, this principle should apply to States Parties requesting international assistance under the World Heritage Fund: States Parties in arrears with their voluntary or obligatory payments for the biennium in question would not be in a position to obtain international assistance under the Fund, except in exceptional or emergency instances. The Committee requested the Secretariat to modify the Operational Guidelines to reflect this decision.

35. The Committee furthermore considered that States Parties having opted for making voluntary contributions under Article 16(2) of the Convention, should re-consider their position in order to make obligatory contributions.

36. The Committee took note as at l December 1989, the cash-in-hand available in the World Heritage Fund amounted to approximately $2.5 million. The Committee decided to base the 1990 budget on this amount such that outstanding contributions received during the year would add to the "Reserve" put aside to ensure a certain financial security and to accrue interest.

37. The Committee followed the recommendations of the Bureau which had met previously to discuss this matter and decided to adopt the following budget for 1990, which included an allocation to enable experts from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which are States Members of the Committee to participate at sessions of the Committee and the Bureau:

_{* The funds for technical cooperation and training can be used in an interchangeable manner.}