Multidisciplinary Workshop on the Strategic Framework for the Conservation and Management of the Mount Athos Cultural and Natural Heritage

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined documents WHC-12/36.COM/5A.1, WHC-12/36.COM/INF.5A.1 and WHC-12/36.COM/INF.5A.3;

2. Recalling Decision 35 COM 5A adopted at its 35th session (UNESCO, 2011),

3. Takes note with appreciation of the results of the activities undertaken by the World Heritage Centre over the past year in pursuit of its five strategic objectives as presented in document WHC-12/36.COM/5A.1;

4. Further notes the progress report on the implementation of the recommendations by the external auditor on the 2009 audit of the World Heritage Centre presented in document WHC-12/36.COM/INF.5A.3;

5. Welcomes the report on UNESCO Conventions in the field of culture presented in document WHC-12/36.COM/INF.5A.1;

6. Takes note of the consultations between the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies towards the elaboration of a thematic paper proposing to States Parties general guidance regarding the management of their cultural and natural heritage of religious interest, and requests the World Heritage Centre to present to the World Heritage Committee at its 37th session in 2013, a progress report on this activity.

The World Heritage Committee,

1.   Having examined Document WHC-12/36.COM/7B.Add,

2.   Recalling Decisions 32 COM 7B.43 and 34 COM 7B.40, adopted at its 32nd (Quebec City, 2008) and its 34th (Brasilia, 2010) sessions respectively;

3.   Notes with satisfaction the progress made by the State Party and the Holy Community of Mount Athos to prepare a preliminary inter-disciplinary management plan which will address the recommendations of the 2006 joint reactive monitoring mission and the recommendations of the Committee and which, once approved, will form the basis of a ‘Final systematic, management, environmental and land planning study of the Athos peninsula’;

4.   Recommends that the State Party, in collaboration with the Holy Community provide, by 1 February 2013, three printed and electronic copies of the preliminary management plan for review by the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies; before it is finalized;

5.   Reiterates its request to the State Party and the Holy Community to consider possibilities to support, in cooperation with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies, a key stakeholder multi-disciplinary workshop to shape the approach to development of the management framework, and thus contribute, inter alia, to the discussion on appropriate management mechanisms concerning World Heritage properties of religious interest addressed by Committee Decision 35 COM 5A adopted at its 35th session on heritage of religious interest;

6.   Requests the State Party, in collaboration with the Holy Community, to provide to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2014 a report on progress made in developing an integrated management framework and Management Plan, in line with the recommendations of the joint 2006 World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN reactive monitoring mission, and on the implementation of the above recommendations.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Documents WHC-11/35.COM/5A and WHC-11/35.COM/INF.5A,

2. Recalling Decision 34 COM 5A adopted at its 34th session (Brasilia, 2010),

3. Takes note of the activities undertaken and of the partnerships established by the World Heritage Centre;

4. Also takes note with appreciation of the concrete contribution of the States Parties and all partners who, through their financial and/or technical support, contributed to the efforts to implement the Convention reported in the document WHC-11/35.COM/5A;

5. Reminds the World Heritage Centre of the necessity to elaborate, at each session of the World Heritage Committee, a report on envisaged and concluded partnerships and requests that it be completed with an evaluation of these partnerships based on relevant tools, in particular on the use of the emblem and the benefits received, in order to ensure strict compliance with the Convention's principles and objectives;

6. Requests the World Heritage Centre to continue improving its report by adding to the Periodic Reports:

a) a general comment on progress made and gaps identified at global and regional levels, at thematic level, at the level of different financing sources, and at the level of financial partners or cooperation with States Parties, other Conventions, civil society and the private sector,

b) a comprehensive inventory of pending decisions and the foreseen dates of implementation,

c) a provisional priority activities plan for the following year including the formulation of objectives and expected results, as well as indications on related resources (human and financial);

7. Takes note of the recommendations of the International Seminar on the Role of Religious Communities in the Management of World Heritage properties, organized in Kiev, Ukraine, in November 2010, and requests the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, to elaborate a thematic paper proposing to States Parties general guidance regarding the management of their cultural and natural heritage of religious interest, and in compliance with the national specificities, inviting States Parties to provide voluntary contributions to this end;   

8. Requests the Director of the World Heritage Centre to continue informing it on an annual basis on:

a) authorization granted by the World Heritage Centre on the use of the World Heritage emblem,

b) envisaged and concluded partnerships, with indications on the modalities and terms of such agreements,

and invites the Director to submit a draft of the new PACT Initiative Strategy, taking into account the results of the evaluation of the External Auditor on the PACT initiative for examination at its next session, one of its major objectives being the increase of resources to the World Heritage Fund to the benefit of International Assistance.