Cultural rights protect the rights of each individual, individually and in the community, and of groups to develop and express their humanity, their vision of the world and the meaning they give to their existence and their development through, inter alia, values, beliefs, convictions, languages, knowledge and the arts, institutions and ways of life. Cultural rights also protect access to heritage and resources that enable such processes of identification and development.

The mandate of cultural rights is not aimed at protecting culture or cultural heritage per se, but rather at enabling people, without discrimination, to access, participate in and contribute to all aspects of cultural life in ever-changing ways. Thus, the focus of the Special Rapporteur’s case studies and country visits is not on cultural sites or institutions per se, but rather on examining how specific policies and laws concerning such sites and institutions, as well as other aspects of cultural heritage, science, creativity and discrimination, affect the enjoyment of cultural rights and respect for diversity on the ground.

In his first thematic report to the Human Rights Council, presented in June 2010. In his first thematic report to the Human Rights Council in June 2010, the Special Rapporteur examines which human rights may be considered as cultural rights and how to define their content in more detail.

Based on various instruments and studies, she notes that cultural rights relate to a broad range of issues, including expression and creation, including in diverse material and non-material forms of art; information and communication; language; identity and belonging to multiple, diverse and changing communities; development of specific world visions and ways of life; education and training; access, contribution and participation in cultural life; the conduct of cultural practices and access to m

She notes that many explicit and implicit references to cultural rights can be found in international treaties and the practice of human rights mechanisms. On this basis, she proposes the first working definition of cultural rights and develops her initial ideas about the interaction of the principle of universality of human rights, the recognition and realization of cultural rights and the need to respect cultural diversity.

In March 2016, the new Special Rapporteur devoted her first report to the Human Rights Council to a review of the mandate’s activities over a six-year period, highlighting priority areas for continued work. The report also addresses, for the first time, the issue of the intentional destruction of cultural heritage.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the mandate in the field of cultural rights and the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur provided the Human Rights Council with an overview of the activities of the mandate since its establishment in 2009, and proposed strategies to advance cultural rights in the next decade to achieve the vision set out in article 27 and to guarantee cultural rights to all.

The Special Rapporteur stresses the relevance of this review today, when various forms of extremism exist, cultural relativism flourishes, and human rights violations are justified by cultural traditions. Climate change, the normalization of hatred, growing inequalities, the increasing privatization of public spaces and the pursuit of censorship are threats that the full enjoyment of cultural and other universal human rights can effectively counter.

The Special Rapporteur also notes many positive developments to note, including local initiatives to increase understanding and tolerance, creative efforts by defenders of cultural rights to improve compliance, new opportunities for global cooperation to promote cultural rights, and continued creativity and research, despite all obstacles. In reviewing the work of the mandate, the Special Rapporteur reflects on how to multiply positive developments, as well as considers the strategies needed to combat negative developments.

In preparation for the report, the Special Rapporteur sent out questionnaires to help assess the impact of the mandate’s work in the field of cultural rights since its establishment and to identify priority issues for the next ten years.