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- received 58 votes; Sri Lanka received 122 votes; Thailand received 41 votes. China , Japan , Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka were elected. The Chairperson was pleased to inform the Assembly that the following 12 candidates were elected to the Committee for a four-year term. Group I: Netherlands ; Group II: Azerbaijan and Poland ; Group III: Jamaica ; Group IV: China , Japan , Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka ; Group V(a): Cameroon , Djibouti and Togo ; Group V(b): Kuwait . Turning to the adoption of the draft resolution, and with no comments or objections, the Chairperson declared Resolution 7.GA 14 adopted . The Chairperson congratulated the new Members of the Committee. It was noted that there was no agenda item 15 under 'other business' and she turned to item 16 and the close of the session.

## ITEM 16 OF THE AGENDA: CLOSURE

- 475. The Chairperson turned to the close of the session after three days of intense and fruitful efforts during which the Assembly had made considerable achievements thanks in large part to the collaboration and active, constructive contributions by States Parties in a spirit of consensus and cooperation, which had characterized this Convention from the beginning. This Assembly had provided the opportunity to chart new and promising prospects for the Convention which, in these times of constant change, were more relevant than ever. First, the overall results framework had been endorsed, which was unquestionably a landmark event in the life of the Convention and the result of a long, participatory process. With this new results framework, the impacts of the Convention could be monitored and evaluated in a meaningful way. At the same time, this was closely linked to the reform of the periodic reporting mechanism. The Assembly had given the green light to align this mechanism with the overall results framework through the revision of the Operational Directives. This important decision would move towards a regional cycle of national reporting that would undoubtedly increase the quality of periodic reporting and provide a new platform for sharing experiences. In addition, 29 NGOs had been accredited, which would now allow the Committee to solicit the expertise of a total of 179 NGOs for advice on various issues. The Committee had also initiated a process of reflection to better define the participation of NGOs in the work of the 2003 Convention. The Chairperson congratulated the newly accredited NGOs, thanking them for their commitment to the spirit of the Convention. The Assembly also endorsed the ICH Fund resource plan, which would be used, inter alia, to support States Parties' safeguarding efforts over the next two years. Many delegations had expressed satisfaction with the capacity-building programme, but recognized that there were persistent needs in developing and developed countries. The Committee also welcomed the new funding priority on the transmission of intangible cultural heritage through education. The Chairperson once again called upon States Parties to continue to support this key programme. This Assembly had also made an important and strategic decision to support the operationalization of the International Assistance mechanism by approving the creation of three extra-budgetary fixed-term posts under the ICH Fund. The Chairperson hoped that these posts would be filled as soon as possible so that a dedicated team could ensure that efforts by States Parties to safeguard living heritage could be supported and strengthened. Finally, the Assembly had elected twelve new members of the Committee. Consequently, the mandate of twelve members had come to an end with this Assembly. The Chairperson took the opportunity to thank all the outgoing members of the Committee for their excellent work and wished the new members every success in the face of the challenges ahead. She opened the floor for comments.
- 476. The delegation of Palestine had wished to make a couple of remarks under item 15. Firstly, it was noted that the distribution in the room at the General Assembly was always in alphabetical order beginning with A, which meant that the same delegations would either be seated at the back or at the front. The delegation suggested that this could be reviewed for the next session, noting a nod of agreement from the Secretariat. Secondly, the proceedings were conducted very efficiently with good results, but the delegation proposed that a small coffee break be foreseen next time, as this would allow States Parties to get acquainted and