The 31st General Assembly of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) was held in Rome on October 30–31, 2019.
Over a hundred delegations from ICCROM Member States, observers, and representatives of the Center’s partner organizations gathered at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to discuss pressing issues on the fostering cooperation in the field of preservation of world cultural heritage. This would be accomplished by means of training, dissemination of information, research, cooperation and public campaigns.
A minute of silence was held for Khaled al-Asaad, an outstanding Syrian archaeologist who had devoted many years of his life to research and preservation of Ancient Palmyra monuments, who died at the hands of terrorists in 2015.
Participants discussed in detail the implementation of the main ICCROM programs, the execution of the Center’s budget and the collection of regular contributions in recent years. They approved the budget for 2020–2021. Special attention was paid to the need to increase transparency and financial discipline, and the use of the budget rules adopted by the organizations of the UN system.
ICCROM welcomed a new member — the Republic of Costa Rica. 12 new members of the ICCROM’s Council — the Supreme Governing Body of the Center between the sessions of the General Assembly — were elected. The Council consists of 25 elected members from within member countries, as well as six permanent members representing UNESCO and the Government of the Italian Republic. It is gratifying that the Council also includes an expert from Russia.
The Russian delegation at the event was headed by Mr Kirill Rynza, the Head of Department, represented the Front Office of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO.