The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/15,
Part I: Final reports on the World Heritage Fund for 2020-2021 and for 2022-2023
2. Takes note of the financial report for the 2020-2021 biennium, which ended 31 December 2021, as presented in Annexes I and II of Document WHC/23/45.COM/15;
3. Also takes note of the 2022-2023 financial reports at year-end 2022 and as of 30 June 2023 as presented in Annexes III, IV and V of Document WHC/23/45.COM/15;
4. Recalls that the payment of assessed compulsory and voluntary contributions is, as per Article 16 of the World Heritage Convention, an obligation incumbent on all States Parties which have ratified the Convention and calls upon all States Parties, which have not yet paid the totality of their assessed contributions for 2023, including voluntary contributions in accordance with Article 16.2 of the Convention, to ensure that their contributions are paid at their earliest convenience;
5. Thanks those States Parties which have already made supplementary voluntary contributions in the past years and also calls upon all other States Parties to commit to consider allocating supplementary voluntary contributions to the World Heritage Fund in line with the Roadmap for the Sustainability of the World Heritage Fund with the target of 10 or more States Parties doubling their annual contributions;
Part II: Preparation of the budget for the biennium 2024-2025
6. Approves the budget for the World Heritage Fund for the biennium 2024-2025 at the level of US$ 5,898,076 and its corresponding breakdown as shown in Annex VII of Document WHC/23/45.COM/15, and decides to retain the Emergency Reserve Fund and the Provision for exchange rate fluctuation at the level of US$ 400,000 each;
7. Decides that contracts for the implementation of the Preliminary Assessment will be established annually with the Advisory Bodies at a maximum level of US$ 21,161 per file;
8. Recalling its Decision 44 COM 14, paragraphs 17 and 19 and having taken note of the recommendations of the Ad-hoc working group in Document WHC/23/45.COM/11.Rev, also decides to use up to 100% of the amount in the sub-account dedicated to the Evaluations of nominations to contribute to the financing of the nomination process, particularly the Preliminary Assessment requests to be processed by the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and IUCN, as from September 2023, and further decides to complement, if necessary, the financing needs related to the Preliminary Assessment, including those of the World Heritage Centre, with funds from the operating reserve, thereby increasing the level of the approved 2024-2025 World Heritage Fund budget accordingly within the overall limit of US$ 200,000 maximum for the biennium;
9. Recalling paragraph 168bis of the Operational Guidelines, further calls on States Parties to pay voluntary contributions to the sub-account dedicated to the Evaluations of nominations to support the submission of Preliminary Assessment requests and nomination dossiers, and requests the World Heritage Centre to report on the use of sub-account dedicated to the Evaluations of nominations and on the use of the operating reserve at its 46th session;
10. Recognizing the need for additional human resources at the World Heritage Centre, calls upon furthermore States Parties to consider allocating voluntary contributions to the sub-account of the World Heritage Fund dedicated to human resources and authorizes the World Heritage Centre to enhance the use of the World Heritage Fund to complement funding for temporary staff, as appropriate, for the implementation of activities decided by the World Heritage Committee in the framework of the Fund;
Part III: Follow-up to Decision 44 COM 14
11. Recalling its Decision 44 COM 14 on the sustainability of the World Heritage Fund,
12. Takes note of the work undertaken by the Ad-hoc Working Group and its recommendations made in Document WHC-23/45.COM/11.Rev with regard to the follow-up of Decision 44 COM 14;
13. Recalls that the sustainability of the World Heritage Fund and overall funding for World Heritage are strategic issues and a shared responsibility which concerns all States Parties and relevant partners, affecting the overall credibility of the World Heritage Convention, including effectiveness and efficiency of World Heritage protection everywhere;
14. Having considered the current options for voluntary contributions, calls upon all States Parties to allocate voluntary contributions to the sub-account for Human Capacities and to the sub-account for the Evaluation of nominations, and to make unrestricted voluntary contributions to the World Heritage Fund, including by choosing among the options described in Resolution 19 GA 8 as follows:
- Option 1: Increasing the standard percentage used in the calculation of the contributions to the World Heritage Fund from 1% to 2%,
- Option 3.1: Increasing the contributions by a flat rate of US$3,300 per property inscribed,
- Option 3.2: Increasing the contributions by an additional 4% of the current assessed contribution per property inscribed,
- Option 3.3: Increasing the contributions by an additional amount per property inscribed, according to a percentage increasing with the number of properties inscribed,
- Option 3.4: Increasing the contributions by an additional amount per property inscribed, according to a percentage decreasing with the number of properties inscribed,
- Option 4: Increasing the contributions on the basis of the number of tourists arrivals at World Heritage Sites,
- Option 5: Contributing per activity;
15. Recalling its Decision 42 COM 14, paragraph 17, reiterates its invitation to all States Parties to support fund-raising events dedicated to the implementation of the Convention such as the Partners’ Forum, and also encourages all States Parties to assist the World Heritage Centre in fund-raising activities, in the form of secondments dedicated to fund-raising or in-kind/pro-bono consultancy in this field;
16. Requests the World Heritage Centre to report on the implementation of the Resource Mobilization and Communication Plan for 2022-2023 at its 46th session.