What is the World Heritage Committee?

About World Heritage Committee

• It is a committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
• The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund, and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties.
• It has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List. 
• It examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties and asks States Parties to take action when properties are not being properly managed.
• It also decides on the inscription or deletion of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
• Structure:
  • It consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention elected by their General Assembly.
  • A Committee member’s term of office is six years, but most state parties choose voluntarily to be members of the committee for only four years in order to give other states parties an opportunity to be on the committee.
  • Bureau of the World Heritage Committee:
• The Bureau consists of seven states parties elected annually by the Committee: a Chairperson, five Vice-Chairpersons, and a Rapporteur.
• The Bureau of the Committee coordinates the work of the Committee and fixes the dates, hours, and order of business of meetings. 

Q1) What is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)?

It is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It was founded with the mission of contributing to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science and culture.UNESCO cultural conventions and projects provide platforms for international cooperation and establish a holistic cultural governance system based on human rights and shared values. UNESCO has 193 member States and 11 associate members.

Source: In A First, India To Chair, Host UNESCO World Heritage Committee

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