- and it agreed with the remarks by Uganda and Venezuela about the use of this mechanism. As a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), it mostly needed capacity building, training and the preparation of inventories. Although the islands are small, the country could be considered to be big because island communities were spread widely and also overseas. The delegation also echoed the sentiment shared by India on the hiring of experts who should belong to developing countries and come from countries needing International Assistance the most.
- 229. The delegation of Italy voiced its support for the Secretariat's proposal to reinforce its structure with the establishment of the new posts to ensure a more efficient implementation of the provisions related to International Assistance.
- 230. The delegation of Botswana appreciated the Secretariat's professional report. It appreciated the challenges presented and the proposed draft for adoption by the Assembly. Botswana spoke of its appreciation of the International Assistance it had received in 2015, which helped the country enlist elements of its cultural heritage in need of safeguarding. The delegation also noted the underutilization of the Fund, in particular, the 3 per cent associated with the Africa Group. It believed that this called for capacities within the Secretariat to facilitate States Parties in this regard. Thus, it fully endorsed the Secretariat's proposal for the budget provision for the creation of the new posts and hoped that the Assembly would approve the plan.
- 231. The delegation of Ethiopia thanked the Secretariat for the hard work as well as for the excellent and very transparent report. The Convention was very important for Ethiopia, which has a mosaic of eighty-five ethnic groups, hence its hosting of the eleventh session of the Committee. The delegation apologized on behalf of Mr Yonas Desta Tsegaye, the Chairperson of the eleventh Committee Meeting, who was unable to attend and present his report. Ethiopia had ratified the Convention in 2006 and immediately started its inventory thanks to International Assistance received from the Secretariat. Today, almost 90 per cent of the different communities who practise intangible heritage were nationally inventoried, which was published in ten volumes. The delegation believed that International Assistance was still the main component of the Convention, especially for African countries. As a Committee member, Ethiopia had already supported the additional budget line and was happy to see that the General Assembly was also considering the everyday reality of the Secretariat and allowing the Secretariat to enhance its resource capacities so as to cope with the ever-growing demands from States Parties.
- 232. The delegation of Viet Nam thanked the Secretariat for its very detailed and clear report. It also regretted the underutilization of the International Assistance mechanism but acknowledged the efforts of the Secretariat, encouraging it to continue to help developing countries. The delegation also recognized the challenge of human resources faced by the Secretariat. It therefore considered the financial proposals made by the Secretariat to be reasonable, including those concerning the creation of three new posts for the Secretariat and the transfer of budget lines. The delegation supported the view expressed by China to encourage the Secretariat to recruit experts from developing countries for the new posts.
- 233. The delegation of Portugal remarked that the Secretariat's proposal seemed logical in that in order to more effectively implement the Fund's International A ssistance mechanism, more human resources were needed, which it supported. It was also necessary to continue to evaluate the implementation of the International Assistance mechanism so as to achieve the best possible results, notwithstanding the positive achievements so far but they could still be improved upon. The delegation was also sensitive to the calls made by India and China, in particular regarding the recruitment process, and to the origin of these experts in implementing the work of the Convention.
- 234. The delegation of Iceland greatly appreciated the hard work of the Secretariat, thanking the Secretariat for the clear and informative meeting documents. It fully supported the proposal to create a new budget line to strengthen the capacities of the Secretariat and its excellent work on the implementation of this important Convention. As with many other countries,