Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting in Europe

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/23/45.COM/10D,
2. Recalling Decisions 43 COM 10A.5 and 44 COM 10C.5 adopted at its 43rd (Baku, 2019) and extended 44th (Fuzhou/online, 2021) sessions respectively,
3. Notes that further progress has been made in the follow-up of the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting for Europe and North America, and encourages the States Parties of the region to continue their efforts to address the priority actions identified during the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting, while keeping informed the World Heritage Centre on significant advances and/or challenges;
4. Recalls further that the follow-up of the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting has considerable resource and workload implications for both States Parties and the World Heritage Centre and therefore, encourages States Parties to both financially support follow-up activities to the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting in the Europe and North America region within their countries and to consider making voluntary contributions to the sub-account of the World Heritage Fund dedicated to enhancing the human capacities of the Secretariat or seconding experts;
5. Also notes the lack of financial support from States Parties to follow up on the 2016 Helsinki Action Plan Monitoring survey and to assess the results of the 2015 sub-regional Action Plan for North America;
6. Welcomes the progress made in finalizing Retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value in Europe and reminds the States Parties of the region which have not already done so to submit their Retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value by 1 February 2024 at the latest, as well as clarifications of boundaries by 1 December 2023 at the latest;
7. Invites the World Heritage Centre to include in the Regional Report to be submitted to its 46th session an assessment of the progress made in the implementation of the respective Action Plans based on the information shared by the States Parties in the framework of the Periodic Reporting exercise between 2022 and 2023.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/10A,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 10B, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Welcomes the preparation of the Periodic Report for North America by the World Heritage Focal Points from North America, illustrating the close cooperation between the two States Parties of Canada and the United States of America;
4. Takes note of the Periodic Report for North America and the activities undertaken as a follow-up of the First Cycle, including the work undertaken in the framework of the Retrospective Inventory and the preparation of the retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value and encourages the States Parties to continue this important work;
5. Decides that the significant modifications to boundaries and changes to criteria (re-nominations) requested by the States Parties of Canada and the United States of America as a follow-up to the Second Cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise will not fall within the limit of two nominations per State Party per year imposed by Paragraph 61 of the Operational Guidelines, while they will still fall within the overall limit of forty-five complete nominations per year. This decision shall apply for the 1 February 2015 and 1 February 2016 deadlines for the sub-region of North America, after which time the normal limit established in Paragraph 61 will be resumed;
6. Also encourages the States Parties to prepare an Action Plan to address the main conclusions, issues and opportunities identified in the Periodic Report for North America and present it to the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-14/38.COM/10A,
2. Recalling Decision 37 COM 10B, adopted at its 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Also recalling that the second cycle of Periodic Reporting in Europe and North America takes place on a two-year basis (Group A: North America, Western, Nordic and Baltic Europe sub-regions for the first year 2012-2013; and Group B: Mediterranean, Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe for the second year 2013-2014),
4. Takes note of the activities that took place in the framework of the implementation of the second cycle of Periodic Reporting for Group A and B;
5. Thanks the Italian and the Azerbaijani authorities for having hosted Periodic Reporting meetings since the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee;
6. Commends the World Heritage Centre for its efforts to make the Periodic Reporting data available as soon as possible to the Focal Points and site managers through the provision of the Periodic Reporting national data sets and the publication of the Short Summary Reports and encourages the World Heritage Centre to continue this work for Group B, in agreement with the relevant States Parties;
7. Notes with appreciation the support of the Nordic World Heritage Foundation in the implementation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting;
8. Reiterates its gratitude to the States Parties for their financial contributions to the implementation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting in Europe and North America, and also encourages support in the future;
9. Requests the World Heritage Centre to submit to the World Heritage Committee an overall Periodic Report and Action Plan for Europe at its 39th session in 2015.

The World Heritage Committee,

1.  Having examined Document WHC-13/37.COM/10B,

2.   Recalling Decision 36 COM 10B adopted at its 36th session (Saint Petersburg, 2012),

3.   Recalling furthermore that the second cycle of Periodic Reporting in Europe and North America takes place on a two-year basis (Group A: North America, Western, Nordic and Baltic Europe sub-regions for the first year 2012-2013, and Group B: Mediterranean, Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe for the second year 2013-2014), provided that a report on the Periodic Reporting exercise for North America will be presented at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2014, and an overall report on the Periodic Reporting exercise for Europe will be presented at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2015,

4.   Takes note of the activities implementing the second cycle of Periodic Reporting for Group A and preparing the launch of Periodic Reporting for Group B;

5.    Thanks the German authorities and the Georgian authorities for having hosted preparatory meetings in the framework of the Periodic Reporting exercise;

6.       Also thanks the Nordic World Heritage Foundation for its collaboration in the preparation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting;

7.    Reiterates its sincere appreciation to the Italian authorities, the Azerbaijani authorities and the Luxembourg authorities for their proposals to host future meetings in the framework of the Periodic Reporting exercise in 2013-2015;

8.       Welcomes the progress made with the initiative to prepare an integrated and targeted strategy addressing the priority needs in training and capacity-building for the preservation of World Heritage properties in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe and commends the Steering Group for its commitment to carry forward this work;

9.     Also commends the States Parties which have submitted draft retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value before the official launch of the Periodic Reporting exercise as requested in Decision 35 COM 10C.2 , and urges the States Parties to submit the pending retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value as soon as possible;

10.     Reiterates its gratitude to the Andorran, Monegasque, Portuguese and Dutch authorities, as well as the Flemish authorities for their financial contributions to the implementation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting in Europe and North America, and encourages further support and collaboration in the future;

11.     Requests the World Heritage Centre to report back to the World Heritage Committee on progress made with Periodic Reporting at its 38th session in 2014.

The World Heritage Committee,

1.   Having examined Document WHC-12/36.COM/10B,

2.   Recalling Decisions 30 COM 11A.1, 30 COM 11A.2, 31 COM 11A.1, 31 COM 11A.2, 32 COM 11D, 34 COM 10B.3 and 35 COM 10C.2 adopted at its 30th (Vilnius, 2006), 31st (Christchurch, 2007), 32nd (Quebec City, 2008), 34th (Brasilia, 2010) and 35th (UNESCO, 2011) sessions, respectively,

3.   Takes note of the follow-up activities to the first cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise in the region of Europe and North America and the activities in preparation of the launching of its second cycle;

4.   Thanks the Maltese authorities for having hosted the preparatory meeting for Mediterranean Europe in Valetta from 21 to 24 September 2011 and the Icelandic authorities for having hosted the preparatory meeting for Nordic, Baltic and Western Europe in Reykjavik from 18 to 21 October 2011;

5.   Also thanks the Nordic World Heritage Foundation for its collaboration in the preparation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise, including preparation of meetings as well as relevant tools;

6.   Expresses its sincere appreciation to the German authorities for having proposed to host a meeting for Nordic, Baltic, Western and Mediterranean Europe in Berlin from 19 to 20 September 2012, the Georgian authorities for having proposed to host a meeting for Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe in autumn 2012, the Italian authorities for having proposed to host a meeting for Mediterranean Europe in Florence in September 2013 and the authorities of Luxembourg for having proposed to host a meeting for Nordic, Baltic and Western Europe in 2013/2014;

7.   Welcomes the initiative of the World Heritage Centre and ICCROM to address the priority needs in training and capacity-building for the preservation of World Heritage properties in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, by an integrated and targeted strategy in the context of the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting;

8.   Commends the States Parties which have submitted draft retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value before the official launching of the Periodic Reporting exercise as requested in Decision 35 COM 10C.2 and urges the States Parties to submit the pending retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value as soon as possible;

9.   Reiterates its gratitude to the States Parties of Andorra, Monaco, Portugal and the Netherlands who have made financial contributions to the implementation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise in Europe and North America, acknowledges with thanks the pledge by the Flemish Government to financially support the exercise and encourages further support and collaboration for the future;

10. Also takes note of the Road Map developed at the Reykjavik meeting in 2011 and requests the States Parties to make an effort towards a coordinated approach for its implementation;

11. Decides to launch the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting in the Europe and North America region and also reiterates that it will take place on a two-year basis (North America, Western, Nordic and Baltic Europe sub-regions, for the first year, and Mediterranean, Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, for the second year) provided that a report on the Periodic Reporting exercise for North America will be presented at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2014, and an overall report on the Periodic Reporting exercise for Europe will be presented at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2015;

12.  Also welcomes the creation of the web platform for the follow-up and implementation of the Periodic Reporting exercise and also encourages the States Parties, the World Heritage Centre, the Advisory Bodies and other concerned partners to explore all the opportunities that this tool can provide for the joint implementation of the exercise;

13.   Also requests the World Heritage Centre to report back to the World Heritage Committee on progress achieved in the Periodic Reporting exercise at its 37th session in 2013.

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC-10/34.COM/10B,

2. Recalling Decisions 30 COM 11A.1, 30 COM 11A.2, 31 COM 11A.1, 31 COM 11 A.2 and 32 COM 11D adopted at its 30th (Vilnius, 2006), 31st (Christchurch, 2007) and 32nd (Quebec City, 2008) sessions respectively,

3. Takes note of the follow-up activities to the first cycle of Periodic Reporting exercise in Europe and North America and the results of the sub-regional meetings for Nordic, Western and Mediterranean Europe;

4. Thanks the Irish authorities for having hosted the follow-up meeting for the Western European region in 2009 in Dublin, the Portuguese authorities for having organized the follow-up meeting for the Mediterranean sub-region in 2009 in Tomar, the Swedish authorities for having hosted the follow-up meeting for Nordic and Baltic Europe in Stockholm in 2009, as well as the Israeli authorities for having organized the follow-up meeting for the Mediterranean sub-region in 2010,

5. Welcomes the offer of the Czech authorities to host a meeting for Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe in 2011; the offer of the Estonian authorities to host a meeting for the Nordic-Baltic region in October 2010; the offer of the Maltese authorities to host a meeting for the Mediterranean region in 2011; and the offer of the authorities of the Netherlands to host a meeting for the Western European Region in December 2010; and encourages cooperation and sharing of knowledge between the European sub-regions.

6. Requests the States Parties, to submit the required retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2012, in order to ensure the preparation of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting; and notes with concern the workload connected with this request in relation to the resources of the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies for processing the Retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value as it is crucial for the States Parties to have them approved on time.

7. Also requests the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to prepare a progress report on the follow-up to the European Periodic Report exercise and on the preparations for the next cycle for Europe and North America for examination at its 35th session in 2011.