Decision : 35 COM 15B
Report on the execution of the 2010-2011 Budget and preparation of the 2012-2013 Budget

The World Heritage Committee,

Part I

1. Having examined document WHC-11/35.COM/15 Part I on the execution of the Budget 2010-2011,

2. Takes note of the statement of accounts of the World Heritage Fund for 2010-2011 and the situation of the reserves and contributions as at 31 December 2010;

3. Thanks the States Parties, who have already made their contributions and urges the other States Parties, who have not yet paid the totality of their contributions, including voluntary ones to ensure that their contributions are paid expeditiously;  

4. Recommends the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention to authorize, at its 18th session, the write-off of the arrears of the Former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FFRY) for US$32,794, following the same principles adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and the General Conference of UNESCO on this matter;

5. Also takes note with appreciation of the new mechanism developed by the Bureau of Financial Management to present the status of assessed contributions through the World Heritage Centre website (https://whc.unesco.org) while acknowledgments of receipt can be dispatched upon requests of interested States Parties;

6. Approves to transfer US$60,000 from the "Reinforced Monitoring" budget line to the "Reactive monitoring" one;

7. Also approves the requests from ICOMOS and IUCN for additional funding for the amount of US$90,150 and US$56,035 respectively from the reserve; 

Part II

8. Having examined document WHC-11/35.COM/15 Part II on the preparation of the 2012-2013 Budget proposal,

9. Recalling Decisions 28 COM 11, 32 COM 16B, 33 COM 16B and 34 COM 16 adopted at its 28th (Suzhou, 2004), 32nd (Québec City, 2008), 33rd (Seville, 2009) and 34th (Brasilia, 2010) sessions respectively,

10. Notes that the resources of the World Heritage Fund have not kept pace with the increasing workload under the Convention;

11. Also takes note with deep concern of the decline in the International Assistance budget and the increasing difficulties faced by the World Heritage Fund to meet the actual costs of providing the expert advice that underpins the Convention as a flagship of UNESCO;

12. Taking due consideration of the request from ICOMOS in Annex IV for additional funding allocation to meet costs of services requested by the Committee in the 2012-2013 biennium,

13. Approves the total budget of US$6,608,205 for the World Heritage Fund for the biennium 2012-2013 and its corresponding breakdown as shown in the Annex III;

14. Requests the World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS to reconsider the detailed budget for ICOMOS in order to determine the unfunded activities;

15. Also requests the World Heritage Centre together with the Advisory Bodies to submit to the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session a proposal to provide for the full range of unfunded activities in the 2012-2013 biennium as necessary;

16. Decides to maintain the Contingency Reserve at US$1,000,000;

17. Accepts to merge for the next biennium the 'Reinforced Monitoring' and the 'Reactive Monitoring' missions under one heading and one budget allocation;

18. Agrees to the proposed presentation of the information contained in Annexes II and III (i.e. without the Tables 1 and 2) for future budget documents;

19. Invites the World Heritage Centre to work with the Advisory Bodies in order to consider the harmonization of the structure and format of their budget proposals;

20. Further requests the World Heritage Centre to present at each session of the Committee an updated financial report of the World Heritage Fund, as well as in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies specific statements of income, expenditure and commitments regarding the agreements signed with the Advisory Bodies corresponding to the report of activities submitted to the Committee;

21. Requests furthermore the World Heritage Centre, in consultation with the Advisory Bodies, to provide to the Committee at each session a list of missions and travel (by the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS, IUCN, ICCROM) completed, still to be achieved, and expected to be undertaken, to be paid through the World Heritage Fund in relation with the past and current biennia decisions of the Committee, including information about their costs;

22. In addition requests the States Parties in the future to pay their annual contributions by 31 January wherever possible in order to facilitate the timely implementation of the activities financed by the World Heritage Fund;

23. Also invites States Parties to make supplementary contributions to the World Heritage Fund with a view to implement activities under the World Heritage Convention;

24. Also requests the World Heritage Centre to provide an analytical report, in full collaboration with the Advisory Bodies, on ways to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and sustainability of the World Heritage Fund, including a sustainable funding model and measures to ensure adequate resourcing for Advisory Bodies to meet their responsibilities under the Convention;

25. Finally requests the World Heritage Centre to report on the implementation of this Decision at its 36th session in 2012.