A/HRC/61/49/Add.2 leveraged in multiple ways in the strategic development plan to achieve various objectives, especially the right of everyone to take part in cultural life and in decision-making processes, the enhancement of youth and women participation in society, the recognition of everyone’s heritage and the improvement of local knowledge of heritage, access to adequate education and the use of local knowledge in climate change mitigation. C. System of cultural governance 20. The executive branch of the Federal Government does not have a department of culture, as cultural concerns are considered to lie outside its responsibilities. However, the head of the Office of National Archives, Culture and Historic Preservation is included in discussions within the Cabinet. That body is represented in each of the States, where most cultural responsibilities lie. The Office of National Archives, Culture and Historic Preservation is tasked with ensuring coordination, providing financial support to the states’ Historic Preservation Offices for bigger projects, including through the development of partnerships for technical assistance, such as with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Office of National Archives, Culture and Historic Preservation receives funding from the United States Ministry of Interior’s National Park Service, which is distributed between the Historic Preservation Offices. It is required to report on how the funding is used. Historic Preservation Offices are responsible for local heritage inventory and preservation measures. Each office defines its priorities with the governor and the traditional authorities, in full respect of the diversity of the peoples on the territory. 21. Sports and cultural facilities, such as cinemas, theatres, cultural centres, libraries and archives, are very limited across the territory. Existing infrastructure is concentrated in the national and state capital cities. At the time of the visit, only Kosrae had a state museum and there was no national museum or archive. The authorities need to dedicated public money to cultural infrastructures so that country’s inhabitants can continue to learn about their past and practise their cultures. 22. Responsibilities in the field of education are divided between the National Department of Education, which sets national teacher trainings, student assessments and curriculum standards, coordinates funding and oversees tertiary education by the College of Micronesia, and the states’ Departments of Education, which provide primary and secondary education, implement at a minimum the national standards and adapt the curriculum to local needs. 23. Nan Madol is the sole UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Federated States of Micronesia. The significant conservation challenges it faces, as detailed in UNESCO decision 46 COM 7A.39 (2024), have led to its retention on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Ongoing threats to its outstanding universal value include inadequate legal and management frameworks, uncontrolled vegetation growth, stonework collapse, storm surges, erosion, siltation and unregulated tourism development within the buffer zone, particularly the Para Nuii Resort. In 2004, Yap stone money sites in Palau and Yap were placed on the tentative list for submission to the World Heritage List. In 2021, traditional navigation knowledge (wayfinding) and canoe-building was inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. 24. Three important UNESCO heritage conventions complete the legal and normative framework of the Federated States of Micronesia. The Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (ratified in 2002), the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (in 2013) and the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (in 2018). By ensuring the protection of heritage assets, these instruments enable access to and participation in cultural resources that are necessary for the development and expression of peoples’ identity. III. Challenges of subsidiarity 25. The Special Rapporteur identified a series of challenges emanating from the coordination between the various levels of public authorities. In a country that has limited resources, priority should be given to achieving as much complementarity as possible. GE.26-01464 5