General Conference Twenty-ninth Session, Paris 1997 29 C 29 C/9 17 October 1997 Original: French Item 1.7 of the provisional agenda ADMISSION TO THE TWENTY-NINTH SESSION OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF OBSERVERS FROM NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OTHER THAN THOSE MAINTAINING FORMAL RELATIONS, FOUNDATIONS AND OTHER SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS MAINTAINING OFFICIAL RELATIONS, AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD THEREON OUTLINE Source: Rule 7 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference. Background: In accordance with this Rule, the General Conference examines requests from non-governmental organizations and foundations to send representatives to the meeting of the General Conference. Purpose: The participation of non-governmental organizations and foundations in the General Conference is subject to a procedure which ends with the recommendations of the Executive Board contained in this document. Decision required: paragraph 6. 1. The participation of non-governmental organizations maintaining operational relations and of organizations maintaining official relations under the terms of the Directives concerning UNESCO s relations with foundations and similar institutions (Article IV.2), as well as organizations not maintaining official relations with UNESCO, is governed by Rule 7 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference, which states that the General Conference, on
- page 2 the recommendation of the Executive Board, and by a two-thirds majority of Members present and voting, may admit as observers at specified sessions of the Conference or of its commissions representatives of international non-governmental or semi-governmental organizations. 2. The Executive Board at its 125th session, by decision 6.2, determined the way it would deal with requests by organizations referred to in paragraph 1 above. It also decided to distinguish between, on the one hand, NGOs maintaining operational relations and foundations and similar institutions, and, on the other, organizations maintaining no official relations, and accordingly established two distinct procedures. 3. At its 152nd session, the Executive Board examined requests received to that end from 77 international non-governmental organizations, eight foundations or similar institutions, listed in Annex I, and one international non-governmental organization not maintaining official relations with UNESCO, the Organization of World Heritage Cities, on which a fact sheet is appended in Annex II. 4. The Executive Board therefore recommends to the General Conference that it invite the organizations in official relations listed in Annex I to participate in the work of its twenty-ninth session as observers for agenda items falling within their competence. 5. The Executive Board also recommends to the General Conference that it invite the Organization of World Heritage Cities, on which a fact sheet is appended in Annex II, to participate in the work of its twenty-ninth session as an observer for agenda items falling within its competence. 6. In the light of the recommendations of the Executive Board summarized in the above paragraphs, the General Conference may wish to adopt a resolution along the following lines: The General Conference, Having examined the recommendations of the Executive Board concerning admission to the twenty-ninth session of the General Conference of observers from non-governmental organizations other than those maintaining formal relations with UNESCO, Admits to participate as observers at its twenty-ninth session, as they have requested, for consideration of agenda items falling within their competence, the organizations in official relations listed in Annex I to document 29 C/9; Also admits the Organization of World Heritage Cities to participate as an observer at its twenty-ninth session.
ANNEX I 29 C/9 Annex I 1. INTERNATIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS MAINTAINING OPERATIONAL RELATIONS Academia Europaea Africa Club All Africa Students Union Associated Country Women of the World Association francophone internationale des directeurs d établissements scolaires Association of Arab Universities B nai B rith Caritas Internationalis Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa European Coordination Bureau of International Youth Organizations Fédération internationale Musique Espérance Federation of Arab News Agencies Forum for African Women Educationalists General Arab Women s Federation International Alliance of Women International Amateur Theatre Association International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement International Association for Water Law International Association of Agricultural Students International Association of Charities International Association of Rural Family Centres International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives International Association of Students in Economics and Management International Association of University Professors and Lecturers International Association to Save Tyre International Catholic Child Bureau International Catholic Society for Girls International Catholic Union of the Press International Confederation of Free Trade Unions International Council of Associations for Science Education International Council of Jewish Women International Council of Women International Dance Council International Federation for Home Economics International Federation for Housing and Planning International Federation for Parent Education International Federation of Business and Professional Women International Federation of Educative Communities International Humanist and Ethical Union International League for Child and Adult Education International Montessori Association International Movement ATD Fourth World International Organization for Standardization International Peace Bureau International School Psychology Association
Annex I - page 2 International Scientific Council for Island Development International Union for Health Promotion and Education International Union of Family Organizations International Union of Latin Notaries International Union of Students International Young Catholic Students Islamic Call Society Organisation of African Trade Union Unity Pan African Women s Organization Pax Christi - International Catholic Peace Movement Pax Romana Private Committees, Associations and Organizations for the Safeguarding of Venice Soroptimist International Unda - International Catholic Association for Radio and Television Union Internationale de la Marionnette Universal Esperanto Association Women s International League for Peace and Freedom World Alliance of Young Men s Christian Associations World Confederation of Labour World Council of Comparative Education Societies World Federation of Democratic Youth World Federation of Scientific Workers World Federation of the Deaf World Jewish Congress World Movement of Mothers World Organization of Former Pupils of Catholic Education World Student Christian Federation World Union of Catholic Teachers World Union of Catholic Women s Organizations World Young Women s Christian Association Zonta International 2. FOUNDATIONS AND SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS Hope 87 (Hundreds of Original Projects for Employment) Leopold Senghor Foundation Literacy Research Centre Simon Wiesenthal Centre Summer Institute of Linguistics Traditions for Tomorrow UNESCO Centre of Catalonia World Foundation for Aids Research and Prevention 3. INTERNATIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS NOT MAINTAINING OFFICIAL RELATIONS WITH UNESCO Organization of World Heritage Cities
Annex II ANNEX II ORGANIZATION OF WORLD HERITAGE CITIES 1. Headquarters Quebec, Canada 2. Date of foundation 8 September 1993 3. Principal officials President: Vice-Presidents: Treasurer: Secretary-General: Jean-Paul L Allier (Canada) Mamadou Diop (Senegal) Abilio Dias Fernandes (Portugal) Agustin Condin Bajén (Spain) Abderrahim Filali Baba (Morocco) Ingmar Ljones (Norway) Raùl Salizar (Peru) M hamed Ali Bouleymen (Tunisia) Marcel Junius (Canada) 4. Aims The main aims of the Organization are to contribute to the implementation of the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the International Charter for the Conservation of Historic Towns, to further co-operation and exchange of information among the world s historic cities, in particular those which are included on the World Heritage List, and lastly to establish and maintain close collaboration with other international and regional institutions and organizations pursuing similar objectives. Without limiting the general scope of the foregoing, its objectives are as follows: to encourage continuous co-operation among all historic cities of the world, laying stress on exchanges likely to support the efforts of cities situated in the developing countries; to foster and support the establishment of a network of relations between the populations of member cities by the organization of exchange programmes in the cultural, social, economic and other fields; to give prominence to exchanges in accordance with two main lines of thrust which will foster, on the one hand, interregional and intercultural co-operation and, on the other, the dissemination of skills. The horizontal thrust will enable cities having to contend with similar problems (because of their geographical situation, their culture or their level of development) to share and increase their knowledge. The vertical thrust will ensure that such knowledge is transmitted to all participating cities and will offer them the benefit thereof; to enable each of the member cities of the Organization to take advantage of the knowhow of all the others and of the solutions which they have found to resolve their problems;
Annex II - page 2 to help the member cities of the Organization to adapt and perfect their methods of management in the light of the particular requirements imposed on them; to focus more closely, with the co-operation of specialized bodies, in particular ICOMOS, UICN, ICOM and ICCROM, the studies and research of specialists and experts on the needs of municipal managers; to take all necessary steps to ensure that world heritage cities are no longer considered as military objectives in any act of war and ensure respect of this recognition. 5. Geographical scope At the time the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) was created, it had 81 member cities in the following 45 countries: Algeria, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Holy See, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Mali, Russian Federation, Senegal, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Yugoslavia. 6. Structure The Organization s organs are the Assembly of members, which meet in general assembly or extraordinary assembly, the Board of Directors and the Permanent Secretariat. 7. Main expectations In 1991 the Organization held an initial symposium in Quebec on The management of historic urban complexes in times of change. At the end of this event, which was attended by 41 of the 70 mayors whose cities were included on the World Heritage List, the Assembly adopted a declaration in which it stressed the advisability of creating, under UNESCO s auspices, a network of world heritage cities. It stated that the main objective of this network should be to promote the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and to foster cooperation and exchange of information among these cities, as well as with all historic cities throughout the world. The provisional Board of Directors which was then formed to establish this network proposed that the General Assembly of founder members meeting in Fez, Morocco, on 8 September 1993, should adopt the statutes, charter, budget and programme of work of the Organization of World Heritage Cities, elect its first Board of Directors and appoint its first Secretary-General. This meeting was preceded by the Organization s second symposium on the subject The financing of operations for the presentation of world heritage cities: For what? By whom? How?. Three hundred and twenty-seven persons took part in the activities of this symposium, including 56 out of the 81 mayors of towns included on the World Heritage List at that time and ten mayors of the 50 towns invited because of their historic character. The second General Assembly and the third symposium were held in Bergen, Norway, in 1995, and produced a protocol on communication among towns.
Annex II - page 3 The third General Assembly and the fourth symposium were held in Evora, Portugal, in 1997, on the subject of tourism and world heritage cities. Concerning development OWHC has developed a database on world heritage cities; this project, presented at Evora, is known as URBAVISTA; the updating and distribution of the Management Guide (circulated at the Quebec symposium in July 1991) have continued; information is available on the OWHC website; the development of a list of management experts (specializing in world heritage) is under way. Concerning awareness and training OWHC has organized international, national and regional seminars, symposia and training courses, in particular at La Vallette, Tunis, Guanajuato, Budapest and Quebec; it has alerted (by the most appropriate means) municipal councillors and administrators to matters relating to world heritage management through regional symposia; it has compiled and disseminated information on the availability of fellowships for the study of urban management and other subjects relating to the world heritage. Concerning dissemination/promotion and information OWHC has regularly distributed a newsletter primarily concerned with cities that are members of the Organization: 11 issues have appeared so far; it has mounted a travelling exhibition entitled Cities of history, cities of memory. Concerning fund raising OWHC identifies funding sources; it helps member cities to find funding to protect their heritage; it is attempting to set up an emergency fund for specific actions relating to the management of critical situations; it is to establish a funding committee composed of representatives of major banks, institutions, foundations and so on. 8. Relations with the United Nations and other international governmental bodies The Organization intends to develop and maintain working relationships principally with the Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation (ACCT), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Canadian Agency for International Development (CAID), and also with any other international governmental body that can commit resources to projects for the conservation and presentation of world heritage cities. At the present time, OWHC has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Annex II - page 4 9. Relations with other international non-governmental organizations The Organization intends to develop and maintain working and co-operation relationships principally with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and the Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the World Tourist Organization (WTO), the Agency of United Cities for North-South Co-operation and any other international non-governmental body with know-how that could assist in the implementation of projects for the preservation and presentation of world heritage cities or the realization of the Organization s objectives. 10. Relations with UNESCO and contribution to the realization of its objectives The Organization s first aim is to contribute to the implementation of the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, by fostering co-operation and exchange of experience and information among cities included on the World Heritage List established by UNESCO. An agreement was signed between UNESCO and OWHC in 1997. In this context, the Organization hopes to maintain a special relationship with UNESCO in everything relating to the management of the preservation and presentation of world heritage cities. Within the framework of its activities and under its mandate, it seeks to promote among its members the values to which UNESCO subscribes and the objectives it pursues. In the same way, it will be a key partner of UNESCO in transmitting the needs and concerns of its members and in asserting their views on certain matters or in certain cases that are of particular concern to them. 11. Relations with the Council of Europe Lastly, OWHC has a consultative mandate with the Council of Europe, in the framework of the Committee on the Cultural Heritage.