Decision 38 COM 10B.4

Progress Report on Periodic Reporting in the Latin America and the Caribbean region

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined document WHC-14/38.COM/10B,
2. Recalling Decision 37COM 10A adopted at the 37th session (Phnom Penh, 2013),
3. Congratulates the States Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean region for their efforts to continue follow-up actions to the exercise of the second cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise for Latin America and the Caribbean, and adopts the 2014-2024 regional Action Plan;
4. Notes with appreciation the support of the Government of Brazil and the National Institute for Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in organizing the regional meeting “Towards defining an Action Plan for World Heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean”, in close cooperation with the World Heritage Centre, UNESCO Office in Brasilia, the Advisory Bodies and the category 2 centres of the Region;
5. EncouragesStates Parties and all other World Heritage partners and stakeholders in Latin America and the Caribbean to cooperate actively to ensure the implementation of the Action Plan,  which reflects regional priorities to include, but not limited to, education and public awareness, disaster risk management, integrated heritage management, and sustainable tourism in World Heritage properties;
6. Calls upon the States Parties from the Region to support the implementation of the 2014-2024 Action Plan and also encourages them to provide technical and financial resources at national level for its implementation;
7. Further encourages States Parties to continue working, in close cooperation with the World Heritage Centre, Advisory Bodies and the Region’s category 2 centres, to develop sub-regional action plans, based on the Action Plan and taking into consideration and building upon the achievements of the previous plan with a focus on the specific needs of each sub-region;
8. Acknowledges the progress made by the States Parties of Mexico and Brazil in effectively establishing the UNESCO category 2 centre for the World Heritage in Zacatecas, Mexico, as well as the UNESCO Lucio Costa category 2 centre of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and strongly encourages them to continue their efforts in cooperation with the World Heritage Centre, States Parties and Advisory Bodies to initiate a capacity-building programme for the management and conservation of World Heritage in the region;
9. Also calls upon States Parties from other regions to support the efforts of the Latin American and the Caribbean Region in implementing the Action Plan, in the spirit of the international cooperation promoted by the World Heritage Convention;
10. Reminds States Parties which have not already done so to submit their Retrospective Statements of Outstanding Universal Value by 1 February 2015 at the latest, as well as clarifications of boundaries by 1 December 2014 at the latest;
11. Requests the World Heritage Centre to provide information on the progress made in the implementation of the regional Action Plan and sub-regional action plans at its 40th session in 2016.