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- 'deleted' in paragraph 167.
- 371. The Vice-Chairperson noted a change to paragraph 168 in the number sequence and then turned to the adoption of the Annex with all its amendments, which were duly adopted. The Vice-Chair then proceeded with the adoption of the draft resolution on a paragraph-by- paragraph basis.
- 372. The delegation of Belgium reiterated the deletion of ' national ', supported by Palestine.
- 373. With no further comments, the Vice-Chairperson proceeded to the adoption of the resolution as a whole. The Vice-Chairperson declared Resolution 7.GA 10 adopted .

## ITEM 11 OF THE AGENDA: ACCREDITATION OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS TO ACT IN AN ADVISORY CAPACITY TO THE COMMITTEE Document: ITH/18/7.GA/11 Resolution: 7.GA 11

- 374. The Vice-Chairperson turned to the next agenda item 11 and the accreditation of NGOs to act in an advisory capacity to the Committee.
- 375. The Secretary introduced the item, remarking that there were two main points: i) the accreditation of NGOs; and (b) some preliminary remarks on the participation of accredited NGOs. It was noted that this was the fifth time the Assembly would consider NGO accreditations recommended by the Committee. At its twelfth session in 2017, the Committee had recommended twenty-nine additional NGOs for accreditation, which was presented in the Annex of Document 11. The request applications could be consulted online. Accreditation was granted for a period of four years, after which the Committee examined the contribution and commitment of the NGO and its relationship with it. As a result, fifty-nine NGOs accredited in 2012 were reviewed by the Committee at its twelfth session in 2017. After examination, forty-two out of fifty-nine NGOs maintained their accreditation, having sufficiently demonstrated their contribution and commitment to the advisory services they provided to the Committee. As a result, and before the Assembly decided to accredit the twenty-nine NGOs recommended by the Committee in 2017, a total of 147 NGOs were currently accredited to provide advisory services to the Committee. A graph shown on the screen indicated a strong disparity between the electoral groups. Taking into account the current situation, the Assembly might wish to invite States Parties from under-represented groups to encourage the participation of NGOs active in the field of heritage preservation. The Secretary then introduced the second part, concerning some preliminary observations on the participation of accredited NGOs, recalling that in 2017 the Committee had recognized the need to reflect on the advisory functions it wished to receive from the NGOs,as mentioned in paragraph 96 of the Operational Directives. The Committee also took note of the range of issues that needed to be considered in this regard, including: the relevance of current accreditation and renewal criteria; the role of the NGO Forum; the imbalance in terms of geographic representation of accredited NGOs; and the workload of the governing bodies of the Secretariat. In accordance with decisions 12.COM 13 and 12.COM 17, taken by the Committee in 2017, the Secretariat proposed facilitating a process of reflection on the role of accredited NGOs in collaboration with the ad hoc informal working group and in close cooperation with the ICH NGO Forum. This multi-step consultation process was expected to culminate in the fourteenth session of the Committee in 2019. As a first step, an electronic consultation on the potential advisory functions of accredited NGOs would be conducted this summer, as well as possible avenues on how to move forward with the accreditation system. To this end, in early July 2018, the Secretariat would send base information to the ad hoc informal working group and the NGO Forum. Comments and proposals from the States Parties via the ad hoc informal working group, and the accredited NGOs through the NGO Forum would be collected by the Secretariat in July and August 2018. In a second step, and based on the results of the e-consultation, the Secretariat proposed organizing a consultation