A/HRC/46/34 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 17 February 2021 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-sixth session 22 February–19 March 2021 Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development COVID-19, culture and cultural rights Report of the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Karima Bennoune* Summary The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a cataclysm for cultural rights, threatening a global “cultural catastrophe” with severe, long-lasting consequences for human rights if effective action is not taken immediately. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights surveys the negative impacts of COVID-19 on culture and cultural rights worldwide, and the positive potential of culture and cultural rights, and the right to science, to enhance rights-respecting solutions and build resilience. The report also contains relevant recommendations for action. * The present report was submitted after the deadline so as to include the most recent information. GE.21-02170(E)