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CONVENTION FOR THE SAFEGUARDING OF THE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGEThe General
Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Referring to
existing
international human rights instruments, in particular to the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights of 1948, the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, Considering
the
importance of the intangible cultural heritage as a mainspring of cultural
diversity and a guarantee of sustainable development, as underscored in
the UNESCO Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and
Folklore of 1989, in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural
Diversity of 2001, and in the Istanbul Declaration of 2002 adopted by the
Third Round Table of Ministers of Culture, Considering
the
deep-seated interdependence between the intangible cultural heritage and
the tangible cultural and natural heritage, Recognizing
that the
processes of globalization and social transformation, alongside the conditions they
create for renewed dialogue among communities, also give rise, as does the
phenomenon of intolerance, to grave threats of deterioration,
disappearance and destruction of the intangible cultural heritage, in
particular owing to a lack of resources for safeguarding such
heritage, Being aware
of the
universal will and the common concern to safeguard the intangible Recognizing
that
communities, in particular indigenous communities, groups and, in some
cases, individuals, play an important role in the production,
safeguarding, maintenance and re-creation of the intangible cultural
heritage, thus helping to enrich cultural diversity and human
creativity, Noting
the
far-reaching impact of the activities of UNESCO in establishing
normative Noting further
that no
binding multilateral instrument as yet exists for the safeguarding of the
intangible cultural heritage, Considering
that existing
international agreements, recommendations and resolutions concerning the
cultural and natural heritage need to be effectively enriched and
supplemented Considering
the need to
build greater awareness, especially among the younger generations, of the importance of the
intangible cultural heritage and of its safeguarding, Considering
that the
international community should contribute, together with the States Parties to this
Convention, to the safeguarding of such heritage in a spirit of
cooperation and mutual assistance, Recalling
UNESCO’s
programmes relating to the intangible cultural heritage, in particular
the Proclamation of
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, Considering
the
invaluable role of the intangible cultural heritage as a factor in
bringing Adopts
this
Convention on this seventeenth day of October 2003. I. General
provisions Article 1 –
Purposes of the Convention The purposes of
this Convention are: (a) to safeguard
the intangible cultural heritage; (b) to ensure
respect for the intangible cultural heritage of the communities,
groups and individuals
concerned; (c) to raise
awareness at the local, national and international levels of the
importance of the intangible
cultural heritage, and of ensuring mutual appreciation thereof; (d) to provide
for international cooperation and assistance. Article 2 –
Definitions For the purposes
of this Convention, 1. The
“intangible cultural heritage” means the practices, representations,
expressions, 2. The
“intangible cultural heritage”, as defined in paragraph 1 above, is
manifested inter alia in the following domains: (a) oral
traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the
intangible (b) performing
arts; (c) social
practices, rituals and festive events; (d) knowledge and
practices concerning nature and the universe; (e) traditional craftsmanship. 3. “Safeguarding”
means measures aimed at ensuring the viability of the intangible 4. “States
Parties” means States which are bound by this Convention and among
which 5. This
Convention applies mutatis mutandis to the territories referred to in
Article 33 Article. To that
extent the expression “States Parties” also refers to such
territories. Article 3 –
Relationship to other international instruments Nothing in this
Convention may be interpreted as: (a) altering the
status or diminishing the level of protection under the 1972 Convention
concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (b) affecting the
rights and obligations of States Parties deriving from any II. Organs of the
Convention Article 4 –
General Assembly of the States Parties 1. A General
Assembly of the States Parties is hereby established, hereinafter referred
to 2. The General
Assembly shall meet in ordinary session every two years. It may meet
in 3. The General
Assembly shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure. Article 5 –
Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding 1. An
Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible
Cultural It shall be
composed of representatives of 18 States Parties, elected by the States
Parties 2. The number of
States Members of the Committee shall be increased to 24 once the Article 6 –
Election and terms of office of States Members of the Committee 1. The election
of States Members of the Committee shall obey the principles of equitable
geographical representation and rotation. 2. States Members
of the Committee shall be elected for a term of four years by States 3. However, the
term of office of half of the States Members of the Committee elected at
the first election is limited to two years. These States shall be chosen
by lot at the first 4. Every two
years, the General Assembly shall renew half of the States Members of
the 5. It shall also
elect as many States Members of the Committee as required to fill 6. A State Member
of the Committee may not be elected for two consecutive terms. 7. States Members
of the Committee shall choose as their representatives persons who are
qualified in the various fields of the intangible cultural heritage. Article 7 –
Functions of the Committee Without prejudice
to other prerogatives granted to it by this Convention, the functions of
the Committee shall be to: (a) promote the
objectives of the Convention, and to encourage and monitor the (b) provide
guidance on best practices and make recommendations on measures for (c) prepare and
submit to the General Assembly for approval a draft plan for the use (d) seek means of
increasing its resources, and to take the necessary measures to this (e) prepare and
submit to the General Assembly for approval operational directives (f) examine, in
accordance with Article 29, the reports submitted by States Parties, (g) examine
requests submitted by States Parties, and to decide thereon, in (i) inscription
on the lists and proposals mentioned under Articles 16, 17 and (ii) the granting
of international assistance in accordance with Article 22. Article 8 –
Working methods of the Committee 1. The Committee
shall be answerable to the General Assembly. It shall report to it on all
its activities and decisions. 2. The Committee
shall adopt its own Rules of Procedure by a two-thirds majority of
its 3. The Committee
may establish, on a temporary basis, whatever ad hoc consultative 4. The Committee
may invite to its meetings any public or private bodies, as well as Article 9 –
Accreditation of advisory organizations 1. The Committee
shall propose to the General Assembly the accreditation of
non-governmental organizations with recognized competence in the field of
the intangible cultural heritage to act in an advisory capacity to the
Committee. 2. The Committee
shall also propose to the General Assembly the criteria for and Article 10 – The
Secretariat 1. The Committee
shall be assisted by the UNESCO Secretariat. 2. The
Secretariat shall prepare the documentation of the General Assembly and of
the III. Safeguarding
of the intangible cultural heritage at the national level Article 11 – Role
of States Parties Each State Party
shall: (a) take the
necessary measures to ensure the safeguarding of the intangible
cultural (b) among the
safeguarding measures referred to in Article 2, paragraph 3, identify Article 12 –
Inventories 1. To ensure
identification with a view to safeguarding, each State Party shall draw
up, in a manner geared to its own situation, one or more inventories of
the intangible cultural heritage present in its territory. These
inventories shall be regularly updated. 2. When each
State Party periodically submits its report to the Committee, in
accordance with Article 29, it shall provide relevant information on such
inventories. Article 13 –
Other measures for safeguarding To ensure the
safeguarding, development and promotion of the intangible cultural
heritage present in its territory, each State Party shall endeavour
to: (a) adopt a
general policy aimed at promoting the function of the intangible
cultural (b) designate or
establish one or more competent bodies for the safeguarding of the (c) foster
scientific, technical and artistic studies, as well as research
methodologies, (d) adopt
appropriate legal, technical, administrative and financial measures aimed
at: (i) fostering the
creation or strengthening of institutions for training in the (ii) ensuring
access to the intangible cultural heritage while respecting (iii)
establishing documentation institutions for the intangible cultural
heritage Article 14 –
Education, awareness-raising and capacity-building (a) ensure
recognition of, respect for, and enhancement of the intangible
cultural (i) educational,
awareness-raising and information programmes, aimed at the (ii) specific
educational and training programmes within the communities and (iii)
capacity-building activities for the safeguarding of the intangible
cultural (iv) non-formal
means of transmitting knowledge; (b) keep the
public informed of the dangers threatening such heritage, and of the (c) promote
education for the protection of natural spaces and places of memory Article 15 –
Participation of communities, groups and individuals Within the
framework of its safeguarding activities of the intangible cultural
heritage, each State Party shall endeavour to ensure the widest possible
participation of communities, groups and, where appropriate, individuals
that create, maintain and transmit such heritage, and to involve them
actively in its management. IV. Safeguarding
of the intangible cultural heritage at the international level Article 16 –
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 1. In order to
ensure better visibility of the intangible cultural heritage and awareness
of its significance, and to encourage dialogue which respects cultural
diversity, the Committee, upon the proposal of the States Parties
concerned, shall establish, keep up to date and publish a Representative
List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 2. The Committee
shall draw up and submit to the General Assembly for approval the Article 17 – List
of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding 1. With a view to
taking appropriate safeguarding measures, the Committee shall establish,
keep up to date and publish a List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need
of Urgent Safeguarding, and shall inscribe such heritage on the List at
the request of the State Party
concerned. 2. The Committee
shall draw up and submit to the General Assembly for approval the 3. In cases of
extreme urgency – the objective criteria of which shall be approved by
the Article 18 –
Programmes, projects and activities for the safeguarding 1. On the basis
of proposals submitted by States Parties, and in accordance with criteria
to be defined by the Committee and approved by the General Assembly, the
Committee shall periodically select and promote national, subregional and
regional programmes, projects and activities for the safeguarding of the
heritage which it considers best reflect the principles and objectives of
this Convention, taking into account the special needs of developing
countries. 2. To this end,
it shall receive, examine and approve requests for international
assistance 3. The Committee
shall accompany the implementation of such projects, programmes and activities by disseminating best
practices using means to be determined by it. V. International
cooperation and assistance Article 19 –
Cooperation 1. For the
purposes of this Convention, international cooperation includes, inter
alia, the 2. Without
prejudice to the provisions of their national legislation and customary
law and practices, the States Parties recognize that the safeguarding of
intangible cultural heritage is of general interest to humanity, and to
that end undertake to cooperate at the bilateral, subregional, regional
and international levels. Article 20 –
Purposes of international assistance International
assistance may be granted for the following purposes: (a) the
safeguarding of the heritage inscribed on the List of Intangible
Cultural (b) the
preparation of inventories in the sense of Articles 11 and 12; (c) support for
programmes, projects and activities carried out at the national, (d) any other
purpose the Committee may deem necessary. Article 21 –
Forms of international assistance The assistance
granted by the Committee to a State Party shall be governed by the
operational directives foreseen in Article 7 and by the agreement referred
to in Article 24, and may take
the following forms: (a) studies
concerning various aspects of safeguarding; (b) the provision
of experts and practitioners; (c) the training
of all necessary staff; (d) the elaboration of standard-setting and other
measures; (e) the creation
and operation of infrastructures; (f) the supply of
equipment and know-how; (g) other forms
of financial and technical assistance, including, where appropriate,
the granting of
low-interest loans and donations. Article 22 –
Conditions governing international assistance 1. The Committee
shall establish the procedure for examining requests for
international 2. In
emergencies, requests for assistance shall be examined by the Committee as
a matter of priority. 3. In order to
reach a decision, the Committee shall undertake such studies and Article 23 –
Requests for international assistance 1. Each State
Party may submit to the Committee a request for international assistance
for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage present in its
territory. 2. Such a request
may also be jointly submitted by two or more States Parties. 3. The request
shall include the information stipulated in Article 22, paragraph 1,
together with the necessary documentation. Article 24 – Role
of beneficiary States Parties 1. In conformity
with the provisions of this Convention, the international assistance 2. As a general
rule, the beneficiary State Party shall, within the limits of its
resources, 3. The
beneficiary State Party shall submit to the Committee a report on the use
made of VI. Intangible
Cultural Heritage Fund Article 25 –
Nature and resources of the Fund 1. A “Fund for
the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage”, hereinafter
referred to as “the Fund”, is
hereby established. 2. The Fund shall
consist of funds-in-trust established in accordance with the
Financial Regulations of UNESCO. 3. The resources
of the Fund shall consist of: (a) contributions
made by States Parties; (b) funds
appropriated for this purpose by the General Conference of UNESCO; (c)
contributions, gifts or bequests which may be made by: (i) other
States; (ii)
organizations and programmes of the United Nations system,
particularly the United
Nations Development Programme, as well as other international organizations; (iii) public or
private bodies or individuals; (d) any interest
due on the resources of the Fund; (e) funds raised
through collections, and receipts from events organized for the (f) any other
resources authorized by the Fund’s regulations, to be drawn up by the 4. The use of
resources by the Committee shall be decided on the basis of guidelines
laid down by the General Assembly. 5. The Committee
may accept contributions and other forms of assistance for general and
specific purposes relating to specific projects, provided that those
projects have been approved by the Committee. 6. No political,
economic or other conditions which are incompatible with the
objectives Article 26 –
Contributions of States Parties to the Fund 1. Without
prejudice to any supplementary voluntary contribution, the States Parties
to this Convention undertake to pay into the Fund, at least every two
years, a contribution, the amount of which, in the form of a uniform
percentage applicable to all States, shall be determined by the General
Assembly. This decision of the General Assembly shall be taken by a
majority of the States Parties present and voting which have not made the
declaration referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. In no case shall
the contribution of the State Party exceed 1% of its contribution to the
regular budget of UNESCO. 2. However, each
State referred to in Article 32 or in Article 33 of this Convention
may 3. A State Party
to this Convention which has made the declaration referred to in 4. In order to
enable the Committee to plan its operations effectively, the contributions
of States Parties to this Convention which have made the declaration
referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be paid on a regular
basis, at least every two years, and should be as close as possible to the
contributions they would have owed if they had been bound by the
provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article. 5. Any State
Party to this Convention which is in arrears with the payment of its Article 27 –
Voluntary supplementary contributions to the Fund States Parties
wishing to provide voluntary contributions in addition to those foreseen
under Article 26 shall inform the Committee, as soon as possible, so as to
enable it to plan its operations accordingly. Article 28 –
International fund-raising campaigns The States
Parties shall, insofar as is possible, lend their support to international
fund-raising campaigns organized for the benefit of the Fund under the
auspices of UNESCO. VII. Reports Article 29 –
Reports by the States Parties The States
Parties shall submit to the Committee, observing the forms and periodicity
to be defined by the Committee, reports on the legislative, regulatory and
other measures taken for the implementation of this Convention. Article 30 –
Reports by the Committee 1. On the basis
of its activities and the reports by States Parties referred to in Article
29, 2. The report
shall be brought to the attention of the General Conference of
UNESCO. VIII.
Transitional clause Article 31 –
Relationship to the Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and 1. The Committee
shall incorporate in the Representative List of the Intangible
Cultural 2. The
incorporation of these items in the Representative List of the Intangible
Cultural 3. No further
Proclamation will be made after the entry into force of this
Convention. IX. Final
clauses Article 32 –
Ratification, acceptance or approval 1. This
Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by
States 2. The
instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval shall be deposited
with the Article 33 –
Accession 1. This
Convention shall be open to accession by all States not Members of UNESCO
that are invited by the General Conference of UNESCO to accede to it. 2. This
Convention shall also be open to accession by territories which enjoy full
internal self-government recognized as such by the United Nations, but
have not attained full independence in accordance with General Assembly
resolution 1514 (XV), and which have competence over the matters governed
by this Convention, including the competence to enter into treaties in
respect of such matters. 3. The instrument
of accession shall be deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO. This Convention
shall enter into force three months after the date of the deposit of the
thirtieth instrument of
ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, but only with respect to
those States that have
deposited their respective instruments of ratification, acceptance,
approval, or accession on or before that date. It shall enter into force
with respect to any other State Party three months after the deposit of
its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. Article 35 –
Federal or non-unitary constitutional systems The following
provisions shall apply to States Parties which have a federal or
non-unitary constitutional system: (a) with regard
to the provisions of this Convention, the implementation of which (b) with regard
to the provisions of this Convention, the implementation of which Article 36 –
Denunciation 1. Each State
Party may denounce this Convention. 2. The
denunciation shall be notified by an instrument in writing, deposited with
the 3. The
denunciation shall take effect twelve months after the receipt of the
instrument of Article 37 –
Depositary functions The
Director-General of UNESCO, as the Depositary of this Convention, shall
inform the States Members of the Organization, the States not Members of
the Organization referred to in Article 33, as well as the United Nations,
of the deposit of all the instruments of ratification, acceptance,
approval or accession provided for in Articles 32 and 33, and of the
denunciations provided for in Article 36. Article 38 –
Amendments 1. A State Party
may, by written communication addressed to the Director-General, 2. Amendments
shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of States Parties present
and 3. Once adopted,
amendments to this Convention shall be submitted for ratification, 4. Amendments
shall enter into force, but solely with respect to the States Parties that
have ratified, accepted, approved or acceded to them, three months after
the deposit of the instruments referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article
by two-thirds of the States Parties. Thereafter, for
each State Party that ratifies, accepts, approves or accedes to an
amendment, the said amendment shall enter into force three months after
the date of deposit by that State Party of its instrument of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession. 5. The procedure
set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall not apply to amendments to Article 5
concerning the number of States Members of the Committee. These amendments
shall enter into force at the time they are adopted. 6. A State which
becomes a Party to this Convention after the entry into force of (a) as a Party to
this Convention as so amended; and (b) as a Party to
the unamended Convention in relation to any State Party not bound Article 39 –
Authoritative texts This Convention
has been drawn up in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Article 40 –
Registration In conformity
with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, this Convention
shall be registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations at the
request of the Director-General of UNESCO. |
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