UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE
6 MSP
UCH/17/6.MSP/INF.5 REV4
Paris, 29 May 2017
Original: English
UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION
CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION OF THE UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE
MEETING OF STATES PARTIES
Sixth session
Paris, UNESCO Headquarters, Room II
30-31 May 2017
Item 5 of the Provisional Agenda - Information Document 5
Members of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body (STAB) and Geographical
Distribution
This document contains background information for
the election of the six members of the Scientific and
Technical Advisory Body (STAB).
UCH/17/6.MSP/INF.5 REV4- page 2
1. According to Rule 23 of its Rules of Procedure the Meeting of States Parties elects every two
years half of the membership of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body (“STAB”)
(comprised of twelve members according to Article 2 (a) of its Statues), with due regard to
the principles of equitable geographical distribution, rotation and gender representation.
2. At the present meeting the term of six members of the STAB ends and a new election has to
take place for their now vacant seats. The following STAB member’s terms end:

Ms María Helena Barba Meinecke (Mexico)

Ms Dolores Elkin (Argentina)

Mr Michel L'Hour (France)

Mr Seyed Hossein Sadat Meidani (Islamic Republic of Iran)

Mr Constantin Chera (Romania)

Ms Ouafa Ben Slimane (Tunisia)
STAB members staying on until 2019 are:

Mr Jasen Mesic (Croatia)

Mr Xavier Nieto Prieto (Spain)

Mr Auron Tare (Albania)

Mr Vladas Zulkus (Lithuania)

Mr Ovidio Juan Ortega Pereyra (Cuba)

Mr Augustus Ajibola (Nigeria)
3. With regard to the principle of gender balance, the STAB is currently comprised of three
women and nine men. At the present meeting, the three women will vacate their posts and
three of the nine men will vacate their posts.
4. With regard to the balance of expertise, most of the remaining members of the STAB are
underwater archaeologists or heritage specialists. One of the outgoing members is an expert
in international law. In this regard, the External Auditor recommended in its “Report on the
Governance of UNESCO and Dependant Funds, Programmes and Entities”1 that the
scientific qualification of the STAB Members should be taken into account.
5. With regard to geographical distribution, Group I maintains one seat, Group II three seats,
Group III one seat and Group V a one seat.
6. To obtain an equitable geographical distribution in the upcoming election of the six members,
it is necessary to know the number of seats to be claimed potentially by each electoral group.
The calculation to be made is the number of States Parties per electoral group divided by the
total number of States Parties to the Convention and multiplied by the twelve seats in the
STAB. The resulting claim has to be diminished by the number of members from a region
that continue to sit as members in the STAB.
States Parties per electoral group x seats in the Advisory Body (12) = claim – sitting members
States Parties to the Convention (56)
1
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002342/234265E.pdf
UCH/17/6.MSP/INF.5 REV4- page 3
Geographical Distribution of States Parties to
the 2001 Convention
Group I; 5; 9%
Group V(b); 9; 16%
Group II; 11; 20%
Group V(a); 10;
18%
Group IV; 2; 3%
Group III; 19; 34%
Group I:
Belgique, France, Italie, Portugal, Espagne
Group II:
Albanie, Bosnie-Herzégovine, Bulgarie, Croatie, Hongrie, Lituanie, Monténégro, Roumanie, Slovaquie,
Slovénie et Ukraine
Group III:
Antigua-et-Barbuda, Argentine, Barbade, Barbuda, Bolivie, Cuba, Equateur, Grenade, Guatemala, Guyana,
Jamaïque, Haïti, Honduras, Mexique, Panama, Paraguay, Sainte-Lucie, Saint-Kitts-et-Nevis, Saint-Vincent-etles Grenadines, Trinité-et-Tobago Tobago
Group IV:
Cambodge, Iran (République islamique d ')
Group Va:
République démocratique du Congo, Gabon, Guinée Bissau, Ghana, Nigéria, Bénin, Namibie, Madagascar,
Togo et Afrique du Sud
Group Vb:
Algérie, Bahreïn, Jordanie, Liban, Libye, Maroc, Palestine, Tunisie et Arabie Saoudite
7. The resulting proportional distribution of seats in the STAB is illustrated below. This
calculation is provided by the Secretariat on request of the States Parties (made in MSP 3),
and is not legally binding, to assist States Parties to the 2001 Convention in the elections.
Distribution of the six seats among the six electoral groups
Scientific &
Technical
Advisory Body
STAB
Group I
Group II
Group III
Group IV
Group Va
Group Vb
TOTAL
Total of States in
elect. group
5
11
19
2
10
9
56
5 / 56 x 12
= 1.07
11/ 56 x
12
= 2.35
19 / 56 x
12
= 4,07
2 / 56 x 12
= 0.42
10 / 56 x 12
= 2.14
9 / 56 x 12
= 1.92
(11,97)
12
1
3
1
0
1
0
6
0.07
-0.65
3,07
0.42
1.14
1.92
6
(0)
(0)
(3)
(0)
(1)
(2)
Seats in the
STAB
Seats held by
sitting members
New Seats to
potentially be
attributed
UCH/17/6.MSP/INF.5 REV4- page 4
LIST OF PROPOSED CANDIDATES
Proposing State
Party (by Electoral
Group)
Name and background of candidate
(Detailed CVs will be circulated to the States Parties three weeks
before the Meeting of States Parties and are available from the
Secretariat)
Group I
1.
France
Mr Michel L’Hour, Director of the Centre of Underwater
Archaeology, France
Group II
2.
Bulgaria
Mr Kalin Dimitrov, Director of the Centre of Underwater
Archaeology, Sozopol, Bulgaria
3.
Romania
Mr Iulian Vizauer, Archaeologist, Director, Head of the Office for
Culture, Department of Tulcea, Romania
Group III
4.
Argentina
Mrs Dolores Elkin, Director of the Underwater Archaeology
Programme (PROAS), at the National Institute of Anthropology,
Argentina
5.
Mexico
Mrs Helena Barba Meinecke, Responsible for the Underwater
Archaeology Programme of the Peninsula of Yucatan, INAH,
Mexico
Group IV
6.
Iran
Mr Monir Kholghi, Manager of Communication & International
Relation of Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism.
Group V (a)
7.
Togo
Mr Adoté Blim Blivi, Professor, University of Lomé, Togo
Group V (b)
8.
Algeria
Mr Toufik Hamoum, Lecturer, Archaeology and Ancient Sciences,
Institute of Archaeology, University of Algiers, Algeria
9.
Morocco
Mr Azzedine Karra, Focal Point for the Implementation of the
UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater
Cultural Heritage, Morocco
10.
Tunisia
Mr Ahmed Gadhoum, Research Officer in Underwater
Archaeology, Department of Underwater Archaeology at the
National Heritage Institute, Tunisia.