Resolution 11 GA 11-16

Report by the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee for the period 1996-1997

11. The Chairperson, Mrs Teresa Franco, recalled the last sessions of the World Heritage Committee which were held in Berlin (Germany - nineteenth session) and Merida (Mexico - twentieth session). During these sessions, the World Heritage Committee decided to include 66 new properties on the World Heritage List, bringing the total to 506, with 380 cultural, 108 natural and 19 mixed properties.

12. After a quarter of a century of implementation, it appears that the 1972 Convention is one of the most successful instruments in the field of heritage protection. The Chairperson recalled the efforts undertaken by the World Heritage Committee to ensure that properties correspond to evaluation criteria, and then spoke of the low number of natural properties listed and proposed for inscription. She underlined the imbalance between the number of sites proposed and listed in Europe in comparison to the number of sites from other regions of the world.

13. In this respect, she mentioned assistance approved by the Committee for emergency requests. The budgetary allocation has been considerably increased: from US$ 150,000 per year in 1994/1995 for preparatory assistance, it was increased to US$ 175,000 in 1996 and to US$ 300,000 in 1997. The amount approved for training activities increased from US$ 440,000 to US$ 452,000 in 1994/1995, to US$ 550,000 in 1996 and to US$ 745,000 in 1997.

14. She expressed concern about the low number of requests for international assistance, especially in the field of preparatory assistance, probably due to the lack of knowledge regarding procedures to follow to apply for this assistance.

15. She indicated that during its forthcoming session in Naples, the Committee would be able to examine the Auditor's report on the management of the Convention, thus providing a basis for future planning of the work of the Convention.

16. The President of the General Assembly once again expressed his satisfaction with the work accomplished.