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- elements on the Urgent Safeguarding List. For the first time, at its eleventh session, the Committee approved one International Assistance request that was examined together with a nomination to the Urgent Safeguarding List in order to support the implementation of the proposed safeguarding plan. During the reporting period, the Committee also selected seven Good Safeguarding Practices. The Committee also advanced the reflection on the nature and purposes of Lists under the Convention. A particular case in point was the experience gleaned from the request by Viet Nam to transfer an element from the Urgent Safeguarding List to the Representative List. While the element was indeed removed from the Urgent Safeguarding List and inscribed on the Representative List, the Committee concurred that the procedure that currently exists under the Operational Directives was inadequate to take decisions on this complex issue. The Committee thus considered it necessary to convene an open-ended working group to further discuss this matter to be held before the fourteenth session of the Committee in 2019, subject to extrabudgetary funds. Mr Lee then drew the Assembly's attention to awareness -raising activities at the local, national and international levels. In a new initiative, the Bureau allocated US$336,500 under the line ' other functions of the Committee' for the period 2016 - 2017 for the design of a communication and outreach plan. The Committee discussed the first actions taken by the Secretariat towards that end at its twelfth session. More details on this subject could be found in Information Document 7. Furthermore, the Committee inscribed sixty-seven new elements on the Representative List. Concerning the monitoring of implementation of the Convention and its impact, Mr Lee reported that during the reporting period, the Committee examined seventeen reports by States Parties on the implementation of the Convention at the national level and eighteen reports on the status of elements inscribed on the Urgent Safeguarding List. At the same time, the Committee continued the process of developing an overall results framework for the Convention. In this regard, it examined a draft proposal at its twelfth session, and as a result was asking the General Assembly to adopt it at its current session. This proposal was developed through a consultative process that included an expert meeting in 2016 and an open-ended intergovernmental working group meeting held in 2017; both meetings were held in China. Mr Lee took the opportunity to thank the G overnment of the People's Republic of China for its generous support in this process. The draft overall results framework would be discussed under agenda item 9. Closely related to the overall results framework was the reform of the periodic reporting mechanism discussed by the Committee at its twelfth session. In particular, the Committee recommended that the General Assembly align the mechanism to the overall results framework by amending the periodicity of the submission of national reports. States Parties would submit their report every six years based on a system of regional rotation instead of every six years after their year of ratification. This issue would be further discussed under agenda item 10. Concluding, Mr Lee conveyed thanks to the twelve outgoing members of the Committee and the remaining twelve members who would continue in office during the next two years. He also thanked the members of the Evaluation Body and the Bureau members of both sessions for their commitment, as well as all States Parties and Observers present.
- 47. On behalf of the States Parties, the Chairperson expressed gratitude to Mr Byong-hyun Lee for his leadership and commitment during his tenure as Chairperson of the Committee, as well as to the authorities of the Republic of Korea for hosting the successful twelfth session in Jeju in 2017. The Chairperson opened the floor for comments.
- 48. The delegation of the Philippines congratulated the Chairperson and the other Bureau members on their election. It thanked Mr Byong-hyun Lee for his report and for successfully chairing the twelfth session of the Committee in Jeju, and warmly welcomed the new States Parties to the Convention. Regarding the report, the delegation believed that it was necessary to address the large number of overdue periodic reports as it was difficult to measure progress and results without data. Periodic reports are vehicles for continued engagement with communities and should be seen as tools for capacity building and safeguarding rather than mere obligations. In addition, the governance-related issues of dialogue and decision- making were crucial for enhancing the credibility of the Committee. The delegation hoped for continued progress on these matters, while noting the ongoing work of the informal ad hoc