XVI.6 The adopted text reads as follows:
"Working methods of the World Heritage Committee
1. Following discussions at its meeting in July 1995 the Bureau agreed that the matter of improving the working methods of the Committee should be considered by the Committee at its nineteenth session. The growing number of items on the agenda was considered to require a more rational use of the time available to the Committee.
2. It is recognised that any change to the working methods of the Committee are likely to also impact on the operations of the Bureau, the World Heritage Centre and the advisory bodies. However, it is also recognised that the Committee is the primary decision-making body; the role of the Bureau is to coordinate the work of the Committee (to prepare the ground). In order to improve and streamline the implementation of the Convention, it is necessary that the Committee decides first how its wishes to discharge its responsibilities.
3. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the Committee, in the limited time available at its annual meeting, to conscientiously discharge its responsibilities to:
(i) examine and evaluate nominations to the World Heritage List;
(ii) decide on an appropriate response to the increasing number of state of conservation reports;
(iii) discuss and determine the budgetary allocations for the coming year; and
(iv) refine and further develop procedures for the efficient implementation of the Convention.
4. Whatever mechanism the Committee chooses to adopt to improve its working methods it should take into account the need for:
(i) transparency of process, such that states Parties and interested organizations are afforded every opportunity to observe and participate in the debate;
(ii) the Committee to be seen to take seriously its responsibilities for inscription of properties and consideration of reports on their state of conservation;
(iii) the time between submission of a nomination and a decision by the Committee not to be unnecessarily prolonged.
5. The Committee therefore decided that the following measures be applied at future meetings:
(i) "the working documents concerning the agenda items must be rapidly prepared and distributed. They must be concise, complete and readily understandable.
(ii) "in order to keep to the timetable, notably the dates set for debates, speakers must be concise in their presentations, not reading lengthy recommendations which members of the Committee have before them in their documents. They should make use of good quality visual aids such as slides and overhead transparencies.
(iii) Delegations with minor corrections to the text of resolutions should submit these in writing to the Rapporteur, rather than making interventions during the debate."
6. The aspect of the Committee's work which is expanding most rapidly and can be expected to continue to increase is the consideration of state of conservation reports. One approach to streamlining how these reports are dealt with could be for the Committee to consider only those reports which deal with properties on the World Heritage List in Danger or proposed to be added to that List, with written reports on other sites being provided for the Committee for noting.
7. During the discussion of the budget at the current meeting it has been suggested that the decision-making process would be improved if the Committee was presented with well documented and clearly argued proposals for its consideration."