A/HRC/58/60 E. Combating cultural misappropriation and misuse 45. An acute danger of the digitalization of heritage assets is that of cultural misappropriation – whereby meaningful cultural expressions are adopted without understanding, respecting or honouring their original cultural or historical significance, without recognizing and acknowledging source communities and guardians, and are used in a way that reinforces negative stereotypes, disrespects sacred traditions or dispossesses or excludes the persons and groups related to that cultural expression from the use thereof and the benefits stemming therefrom. Misappropriation often results from an imbalance in power relations, whereby source communities end up being marginalized in the presentation, use and exploitation of their heritage. It can be particularly damaging when it decontextualizes sacred traditions or exploits Indigenous knowledge. 46. F. Several cases of misappropriation have been raised internationally. Ensuring access and participation to overcome the digital divide 47. While the digitalization of cultural heritage has the potential to increase access to cultural content globally, it also risks exacerbating the digital divide. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same infrastructures and skills to be able to access digital collections, and not all regions have the means to contribute to and benefit from digital cultural heritage. 71 Professionals in low-income regions and countries often lack the resources needed to participate in digitization efforts. Limited access to digital tools, infrastructure and technological expertise often prevents Indigenous Peoples and local communities from leading digitalization efforts regarding their cultural heritage. Heritage assets of remote communities may be excluded from digital collections, reducing these persons’ rights to participate as well as to access their heritage and that of others, as an audience. The latter raises concerns about the continuity of neocolonial practices, whereby the resources of poorer or less technologically advanced areas are exploited and end up benefiting persons other than the source communities. To address these disparities, policies promoting equitable partnerships, technology transfer and knowledge-sharing are essential to ensure that no one, including marginalized and underresourced communities, is excluded from these initiatives due to digital inequality. 48. Language also affects access to digitalized cultural heritage initiatives. There remains a major linguistic imbalance in digital content, with English constituting over 50 per cent of online material, while seven other languages account for another 30 per cent.72 In contrast, over 30 languages spoken by millions represent just 0.2 to 2 per cent of digital content, and thousands of languages are barely represented.73 As artificial intelligence-generated content is expected to dominate up to 80 per cent of online material, this linguistic disparity is likely to grow, further sidelining underrepresented languages and the cultural expressions they convey. 49. With the Internet now constituting a critical platform for scientific and cultural flows and exchanges, it is important to maintain freedom of access and open architecture to uphold cultural rights. Governments and international organizations should take measures to enhance access to computers and Internet connectivity, including through appropriate Internet governance that supports the right of everyone to have access to and use of information and communications technology in self-determined and empowering ways.74 Ensuring access to digital technologies and promoting digital literacy are key to making sure that all people, 71 72 73 74 GE.25-01705 See Towards a National Collection, “Linking digital collections globally”, webinar, 2 May 2024. The discussion included the challenges to sharing digital collections encountered in the Pacific region. Mehdi Snene, Office of the Envoy of the Secretary-General on Technology, “Artificial intelligence, cultural rights and right to development”, statement to the tenth session of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development, Geneva, 29 October 2024. Available at https://www.ohchr.org/en/events/sessions/2024/tenth-session-expert-mechanism-right-development. Ibid. A/HRC/20/26, para.74 (c). See also Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 25 (2020), para. 45. 13