I.11 Transfer of an element from one List to the other or removal of an element from a List

     38.1 An element may not simultaneously be inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. A State Party may request that an element be transferred from one List to the other. The request shall be initiated by the State(s) Party(ies) with the free, prior and informed consent of the communities, groups and, where appropriate, individuals concerned and shall be submitted according to the established procedures and deadlines.

      38.2 Communities, groups and, where appropriate, individuals concerned may express directly to the Secretariat their wish to transfer an element from one List to the other. Such a request is then transmitted to the State(s) Party(ies) concerned and the Committee is informed accordingly.

      39.1 An element shall be transferred from the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding by the Committee when it determines, after assessment of the transfer request and taking into account the criteria already satisfied through the original nomination, that the element satisfies all criteria for inscription on that List. The request for such transfer, using Form ICH-01 RL to USL, shall include:

      (a) In relation to criterion U.1 - Updated description of the element, including justification for the need for urgent safeguarding;

      (b) In relation to criterion U.3 - Adequate safeguarding plan;

      (c) In relation to criterion U.4 - Consent from the concerned communities, groups and individuals that had agreed to the inscription on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

      39.2 An element shall be transferred from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the Committee when it determines, after assessment of the transfer request and taking into account the criteria already satisfied through the original nomination, that the element satisfies all criteria for inscription on that list. The request for such transfer, using Form ICH-02 USL to RL, shall include:

      (a) In relation to criterion R.1 - Updated description of the element addressing the changes in the viability of the element with reference to the original criterion U.2;

      (b) In relation to criterion R.2 - Demonstration of the contribution of the nominated element to encouraging mutual respect and dialogue among communities, groups and individuals, and indicating how the element contributes to sustainable development;

      (c) In relation to criterion R.3 - Assessment of the implementation of the safeguarding plan described under the original criterion U.3 through the periodic reporting and safeguarding measures planned for the future;

      (d) In relation to criterion R.4 - Consent from the concerned communities, groups and, where appropriate, individuals that had agreed to the inscription on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

      39.3 The Evaluation Body may also recommend, following its evaluation of the request for transfer, that the Committee include the successful safeguarding experience in the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices.

      40.1 An element shall be removed from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding or from the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the Committee when it determines that it no longer satisfies the required criteria, paying particular attention to criteria U.1/R.1 and U.4/R.4. The removal can be requested by the concerned State Party, communities, groups or, where appropriate, individuals, or any other third party and such a request shall be treated through the steps described below.

      40.2 (a) A removal request from the submitting entity (i.e. State Party concerned, communities, groups and/or where appropriate, individuals concerned or a third party) is registered by the Secretariat.

      (b) The Secretariat transmits the removal request, as the case may be, to the State Party, the nomination contact person and representatives of communities, groups and/or where appropriate, individuals (as identified in the nomination file), who may provide a response and complementary information.

      (c) If the submitting entity, other than States, wishes to remain anonymous, the Secretariat transmits an edited version of the original removal request.

      (d) If the removal request is submitted by the State Party concerned as identified in the nomination file:

      (i) The Secretariat gathers information in particular in relation to Article 2 of the Convention. The removal request is then directly transmitted to the Committee, together with a response, if any, from the State Party and/or communities, groups and, where appropriate, individuals concerned, as well as any information gathered.

      (ii) The Committee may then decide to:

      1. Place the element under ‘enhanced follow-up’ status as an interim measure if it considers that additional information is needed.

      2. Remove the element from the List if it considers that the information is complete and there is enough ground for removal, with the possibility of placing it in an Intangible Cultural Heritage Repository (end of the procedure).

      (e) In other cases:

      (i) The Secretariat may gather information in particular in relation to Article 2 of the Convention and share the results of that information with the concerned State Party and gather its response, if any. The removal request is then transmitted to the Bureau that recommends whether or not to include the case on the agenda of the next Committee session.

      (ii) The Committee may then decide to:

      1. Maintain the element on the List, if it considers that the information is complete and there is insufficient ground for removal (end of the procedure).

      2. Place the element under ‘enhanced follow-up’ status as an interim measure, if it considers that additional information is needed.

      40.3 (a) The Evaluation Body will evaluate the element placed under ‘enhanced follow-up' status, paying particular attention to Article 2 of the Convention, on the basis of additional information gathered through exchange and dialogue, as appropriate. The Evaluation Body shall transmit its report and recommendation to the Secretariat.

      (b) On the basis of the recommendation from the Evaluation Body, and paying particular attention to criteria R.1/U.1 and R.4/U.4, the Committee may decide to:

      (i) Continue to place the element under ‘follow-up’ for a period to be determined, if the issues persist. The Committee recommends the implementation of reconciliatory/mediatory measures and specifies a session of the Committee in which the issue will be reported back by the State Party for a final decision by the Committee.

      (ii) Remove the element from the List, if there is enough ground for removal, with the possibility of placing it in an Intangible Cultural Heritage Repository (end of the procedure).

      (iii) Maintain the element on the List, if there is insufficient ground for removal (end of procedure).

I.12 Modification of name of an inscribed element

       41. One or more States Parties may request that the name by which an element is inscribed be changed. Such a request shall be submitted at least three months prior to a Committee session.

I.13 Programmes, projects and activities selected as best reflecting the principles and objectives of the Convention

       42. The Committee shall encourage research, documentation, publication and dissemination of good practices and models with international cooperation in generating safeguarding measures and creating favourable conditions for such measures that have been evolved by States Parties in the implementation of selected programmes, projects and activities, with or without assistance.

       43. The Committee shall encourage States Parties to create favourable conditions for the implementation of such programmes, projects and activities.

       44. In addition to the register of selected programmes, projects and activities, the Committee shall compile and make available information about the measures and methodologies used, and experiences gained, if any.

       45. The Committee shall encourage research on and evaluation of the effectiveness of safeguarding measures included in the programmes, projects and activities that it has selected and shall promote international cooperation in such research and evaluation.

       46. On the basis of experiences gained and lessons learned in these and other safeguarding programmes, projects and activities, the Committee shall provide guidance on best safeguarding practices and make recommendations on measures for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (Article 7 (b) of the Convention).

I.14 International Assistance

       47. International Assistance requests (including for preparatory assistance) shall not exceed US$100.000, except for emergency requests and requests submitted simultaneously with a nomination to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding or in the context of the request to transfer an element from the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

        International Assistance requests can be submitted at any time, except for those requests that are examined and approved by the Committee for which the timetable under I.15 shall apply. Moreover, requests for preparatory assistance shall be submitted by the deadline of 31 March.

        48. The Secretariat shall assess the completeness of the request and may ask for missing information. It shall inform the requesting State(s) Party(ies) about the possible examination dates of the request.

        49. International Assistance requests (including for preparatory assistance) up to US$100,000 and emergency requests regardless of the amount are examined and approved by the Bureau of the Committee.

       50. Emergency requests, regardless of the amount are examined and approved by the Bureau of the Committee. For the purpose of determining whether a request for Assistance constitutes an emergency request eligible to receive priority consideration by the Bureau, an emergency shall be considered to exist when a State Party finds itself unable to overcome on its own any circumstance due to calamity, natural disaster, armed conflict, serious epidemic or any other natural or human event that has severe consequences for the intangible cultural heritage as well as communities, groups and, if applicable, individuals who are the bearers of that heritage.

        51. International Assistance requests submitted simultaneously with a nomination to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding or in the context of the request to transfer an element from the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding are evaluated by the Evaluation Body and examined and approved by the Committee.

       52. The Secretariat shall communicate the decision concerning the granting of assistance to the requesting party(ies) within two weeks following the decision. The Secretariat shall reach agreement with the requesting party(ies) on the details of the assistance.

       53. The assistance will be subject to appropriate monitoring, reporting and evaluation.

I.15 Timetable – Overview of procedures

       54. Phase 1: Preparation and submission

             31 March Year 0          Deadline for preparatory assistance requests.

             15 December Year 0          Deadline for submission of transfer requests from the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

             31 March Year 1          Deadline by which nominations for the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding (including those submitted simultaneously with International Assistance requests) and the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as well as proposals for programmes, projects and activities that best reflect the principles and objectives of the Convention must be received by the Secretariat. Files received after this date will be examined in the next cycle. The Secretariat posts on the website of the Convention, in their original language, files as received.

           30 June Year 1                    Deadline by which the Secretariat will have processed the files, including registration and acknowledgement of receipt. If a file is found incomplete, the State Party is invited to complete the file.

           30 September Year 1         Deadline by which missing information required to complete the files, if any, shall be submitted by the State Party to the Secretariat. Files that remain incomplete are returned to the States Parties that may complete them for a subsequent cycle. As files revised by submitting States reach the Secretariat following its requests for additional information, they are posted online and replace the original files received. Their translations into English or French are also posted online as they become available.

             31 January Year 2          Deadline by which transfer requests from the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding must be received by the Secretariat. The Secretariat registers the requests. The requests are transmitted to the Evaluation Body on the same year of their submission, without checking whether a file is complete.

       55. Phase 2: Evaluation

            December Year 1 to May Year 2          Individual evaluation of the files by the Evaluation Body members.

             June Year 2          Meeting at which the Evaluation Body collectively finalizes its evaluation of the files and decides which files will be included in the dialogue process. Only the evaluation of those files included in the dialogue process will still be pending until the final meeting of the Evaluation Body.

             The dialogue process is initiated when the Evaluation Body considers that a short question and answer process with the submitting State(s), conducted in writing through the Secretariat, could influence the result of its evaluation.

             Two weeks after the June meeting Year 2          Deadline by which the Evaluation Body shall transmit, through the Secretariat, its questions to the States Parties concerned by the dialogue process, in one of the two working languages of the Convention.

             States Parties shall respond to the requests of the Evaluation Body, through the Secretariat, within four weeks following the receipt of the letter, in the two working languages of the Convention.

             Latest by September Year 2          Meeting at which the Evaluation Body finalizes its evaluation of the files concerned by the dialogue process and its report on the evaluation of all files.

             Four weeks prior to the session of the Committee          The Secretariat transmits the evaluation reports to the members of the Committee and makes them available online for consultation.

       56. Phase 3: Examination November Year 2         The Committee examines the nominations, proposals and requests and makes its decisions.

I.16 Incorporation of items proclaimed ‘Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’ in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

       57. In conformity with Article 31.1 of the Convention, the Committee shall automatically incorporate in the List foreseen in Article 16 of the Convention all the items that had been proclaimed ‘Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’ before the entry into force of the Convention, following the adoption of the present Operational Directives by the General Assembly.

       58. This incorporation is enforceable upon all States having present on their territories one or several items proclaimed Masterpieces, whether or not they are party to the Convention. Concerning the States non party whose items proclaimed Masterpieces have been incorporated in the List, they shall enjoy all the rights and assume all the obligations included within the Convention as regards only those items present on their territories, on the condition that they so consent in writing, it being understood that those rights and obligations cannot be invoked or applied separately from each other.

       59. All States non party having present on their territories items proclaimed Masterpieces shall be notified by the Director-General about the adoption of the present Operational Directives which require that these items be placed on an equal footing with items inscribed in the future, in conformity with Article 16.2 of the Convention, and governed by the same legal regime for monitoring, transfer from one List to the other or withdrawal, according to the modalities foreseen by these Operational Directives.

       60. Through the above-mentioned notification, States non party will simultaneously be invited by the Director-General as mandated by the Committee to express, within one year, their explicit consent in writing to accept the rights and assume the obligations contained in the Convention in accordance with the modalities foreseen in paragraphs 58 and 59 above.

       61. The written notification of this acceptance by the State non party shall be addressed to the Director-General acting in his/her capacity as Depositary of the Convention, and constitutes submission of the items proclaimed Masterpieces concerned to the full legal regime of the Convention.

       62. In the case that a State non party to the Convention has refused to provide within one year written consent to accept the rights and assume the obligations under the Convention concerning items present on its territory and inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Committee shall have the right to withdraw these items from the List.

       63. In the case that a State non party to the Convention has not responded to the notification or keeps silent on its intent, or in the case of absence of an explicit indication of its consent within one year, its silence or lack of response will be considered by the Committee as a refusal justifying the application of paragraph 62 above, unless circumstances beyond its control prevent it from notifying its acceptance or refusal.

       64. In the case that an item proclaimed Masterpiece incorporated in the List is found to be on the territories of both a State Party and a State non party to the Convention, it shall be considered as benefiting from the full legal regime established by the Convention, it being understood that the State non party shall be invited by the Director-General as mandated by the Committee to consent to the obligations foreseen by the Convention. In the absence of an explicit indication of the State non party’s consent, the Committee shall have the right to recommend that it refrain from undertaking any act that might harm the item proclaimed Masterpiece so concerned.

       65. The Committee shall report to the General Assembly on the measures undertaken in this respect according to the modalities and formalities foreseen by the present Operational Directives.