An international non-profit non-governmental organization, the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) was created to assist member cities adapt and improve their management methods in relation to the specific requirements of having a site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In accordance with its General by Laws, the OWHC has the following goals:

• contribute to the implementation of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the International Charter for the Protection of Historic Cities;
• encourage, on both regional and international levels, cooperation and the exchange of information and expertise among historic cities throughout the world in close collaboration with other organizations pursuing similar goals while promoting action likely to support the efforts of cities located in developing countries;
• in cooperation with specialized organizations, ensure better links between research undertaken by specialists or experts and the needs of local management;
• Sensitize the populations to heritage values and their protection

The OWHC has five official languages, French, English, Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese. The first three mentioned are the OWHC working languages.