Technical notes (a) Derivation of terms

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization

The Constitution of UNESCO (the United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was signed
in London on 16 November 1945 and came into force with the
twentieth ratification on 4 November 1946. The purposes of
UNESCO as stated in the Constitution are:
... to contribute to peace and security by promoting
collaboration among nations through education, science
and culture in order to further universal respect for
justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights
and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the
peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex,
language or religion, by the Charter of the United
Nations (UNESCO 1945).
The Article 14 of the Convention notes that the
World Heritage Committee "shall be assisted by a
Secretariat appointed by the Director-General" of
UNESCO. Since 1992 the UNESCO World Heritage
Centre has functioned as this Secretariat (UNESCO
1972).
UNESCO World Heritage Centre

see Secretariat

W

WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring Centre)

The WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring

Centre) is an independent charity established by
the IUCN (The World Conservation Union), the
WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and UNEP (United Nations
Environment Programme). The WCMC provides an
information service on global conservation. The WCMC
aims to provide reliable up-to-date information on the
conservation of species and ecosystems and to promote the
application of such information for enlightened
conservation planning. The WCMC provides
research, information and technical services so that
decisions affecting the conservation and sustainable use of
biological resources may be based on the best available
information. The WCMC provides information support to
both IUCN and UNESCO to assist them in the
implementation of the World Heritage
Convention.