- meeting between the ad hoc informal working group, the NGO Forum and the Secretariat. This meeting would take place in Paris, provisionally in March or April 2019. However, because of budgetary concerns the meeting could only take place should the Bureau of the Committee approve the use of funds allocated to ' other functions of the Committee ' as part of the ICH Fund. The results of the reflection process would be presented to the Committee at each stage: at its thirteenth session in November 2018, at its fourteenth session in 2019, and finally at the General Assembly at a future session.
- 376. The delegation of the Philippines remarked that this topic had also been addressed by the informal ad hoc working group on 23 May [2018], as mentioned by the Secretary, in which some delegations recalled how the NGO network held untapped potential in terms of promoting the objectives of the Convention. It was noted that statutory engagement with NGOs had largely been limited to the election of six NGOs to the Evaluation Body, notwithstanding the fact that accredited NGOs had an important presence in the field, and that they contributed to advocacy, capacity building and periodic reporting, among others. At the same time, some delegations noted that certain safeguards needed to be put in place to ensure that accredited NGOs did not engage in activities contrary to the United Nations Charter. Some initial ideas raised during the brainstorming meeting included: i) having a better classification of accredited NGOs, determining those with the capacities to contribute in a more active way to the Convention's activities and mechanisms whether at the national, regional or international levels: ii) developing a clear definition of the possible advisory roles or services accredited NGOs could provide the Convention; iii) addressing the current imbalance in geographic representation in the NGO network by identifying means to encourage or support the establishment of such NGOs in other regions; and iv) developing a code of conduct for accredited NGOs. The delegation informed the General Assembly that the co-Chairs of the Philippines and Algeria would have an informal meeting with representatives of the NGO Forum later in the evening and would later report back to the working group. The delegation would be very happy to hear ideas from NGO colleagues on how to take this reflection forward, as proposed by the Secretariat and reflected in the draft decision.
- 377. The delegation of the Netherlands agreed that NGOs play a key role in this Convention and that the ICH NGO Forum is an indispensable platform for cooperation and the exchange of knowledge on safeguarding practices between NGOs and the Convention. This network had grown stronger every year and the Forum had published some very interesting material and organized symposia and meetings. The ICH NGO Forum was now dependent on the voluntary commitment and efforts of representatives of the NGOs and this had worked out well. However, just like with other issues, the Convention was entering a new phase in which the NGO Forum would have to grow into a professional network. Thus, how could the Assembly support the NGOForum in such a way that the Forum and its Steering Committee could concentrate on the exchange of knowledge, its advisory functions, regional cooperation and so on? The delegation suggested that the informal open-ended working group include an item on its agenda that considers NGO support, including financial support, for projects and regional cooperation that would contribute to the implementation of the Convention.
- 378. The delegation of Latvia welcomed the ongoing reflection on the participation of NGOsunder the Convention and it looked forward to learning about the outcomes of such a reflection at a future session of the General Assembly. It joined the concerns that a better balance of regional representation was needed among accredited NGOs. The delegation also highlighted the significant number of NGOs whose accreditation had been determined based on whether or not it had received reports. In this regard, it congratulated the Committee's recommendation for the accreditation of NGOs to the Convention and was pleased to see some international NGOs among those accredited whose accreditation had previously been terminated because they had not submitted a report or because it contained inadequate information, but whose motivation and determination were strong enough for their resubmitted request to be successful and it welcomed such incentives. Finally, it was pleased to note the growing involvement of NGOs from non-States Parties of the Convention, which was important to spread the aim and spirit of the Convention beyond the impact of States