During its 16th session (UNESCO 24-25 October 2007), the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention decided to establish an open-ended Working Group to discuss alternative mechanisms to meet the following goals :
- Ensuring a balanced geographical and cultural representation in the Committee
- Ensuring a less time-consuming and less complicated voting system
- Improving the focus on important issues at the General Assembly
The Working Group, chaired by His Excellency Mr. Kondo, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Japan to UNESCO, will make recommendations on all possible alternatives to the current election system and inform the World Heritage Committee of its work. This Working Group is due to deliver its final report to the 17th session of the General Assembly in 2009.