[ecr] 

This 4-year term of office, starting from the current financial year, is of great importance to Algeria, "in that it will strengthen its position in UN forums, enabling it to contribute to the activation of international mechanisms for the protection of humanitarian cultural heritage, and thus contribute further to the protection of Algeria's tangible and intangible cultural heritage," said Director of the National Centre for Prehistoric, Anthropological and Historical Research (CNRPAH), Slimane Hachi.

This initiative is also "the result of painstaking efforts by Algerian experts and specialists represented by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture and the Arts, the UNESCO Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Africa (CRESPIAF) (category 2) and the CNRPAH, among other bodies, who have succeeded in convincing member countries of the importance of Algerian membership in this Committee," he added.

Thanks to this new step, Algeria "will be able to stand up in a UN forum and make its imposing voice heard, as it is known for its positions and its effective contribution to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage," he stressed.

He recalled, in this regard, that Algeria was the first country to sign the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003, and participated "effectively" in the drafting of its texts.

Algeria was a pioneer in the promulgation of Law 98-04 on the protection of cultural heritage, according to the same official. [/ecr]