Part II Commentary, Art.16–17 Listing Intangible Cultural Heritage

This chapter looks at the listing mechanism established by the 2003 ICHC. It reveals that the need to manage the listing system so as to avoid the establishment of any kind of hierarchy was generally agreed upon during the negotiations leading to the adoption of the 2003 Convention, but in the end such a system was considered the most effective to ensure appropriate safeguarding for ICH. Indubitably, the presence of the lists ensures better visibility for the Convention, especially outside the limited circle of experts in the field. Furthermore, the two lists make the international system of safeguarding of ICH more concrete than it might be in the case that they did not exist, make the Convention more likely to attract the consent of a high number of States, and help in fostering awareness-raising of the significance of ICH which is decisive for the realization of the purposes of the Convention. Last but not least, the listing system ensures consistency with the duty for States Parties to draw up inventories of the ICH present in their respective territories.