A/HRC/46/34 losses must be recognized and addressed. It is also essential to honour the memories of all who have fallen in the culture sectors by memorializing their work, supporting those who continue such artistic and cultural work, and promoting a nourishing cultural life for everyone in accordance with international legal obligations. 9. The economic crisis accompanying the pandemic has also had disproportionate effects on cultural sectors and those who work in them. Economic rights and cultural rights are especially closely connected in such times. Significant numbers of artists, cultural practitioners, museum workers and others are currently unemployed, with artists that perform live and technical teams supporting performances especially affected given their relationships with live audiences. Others, such as writers, may work alone, but also rely on public events for their income. Arts workers and cultural practitioners are among those hardest hit by pandemic-related unemployment crises worldwide, given the specific nature of their employment, which may be sporadic, require being self-employed or working as a freelancer, or necessitate the holding of other jobs. 10. For example, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland alone, experts predicted the music industry, devastated by the collapse in live music, could lose at least £3 billion in gross value added, or 50 per cent of the total, and 114,000 jobs, or 60 per cent of the total. 19 One study indicated that 64 per cent of musicians surveyed were considering leaving their profession.20 By mid-2020, the crafts sector in Chile had already witnessed a 32.9 per cent reduction in income.21 Likewise, Ecuador reported that, by June 2020, 140,000 cultural sector employees had been adversely affected by closures. 22 The film industry worldwide may lose US$ 160 billion in growth in the next five years23 and up to 10 million jobs in 2020 alone,24 and the world book-publishing market decreased by 7.5 per cent in 2020.25 In some countries, the near standstill in tourism had a significant impact on artists. 26 11. It is important to consider the meaning of those losses in the lives of artists and cultural practitioners. In the words of a promising 25-year-old woman trumpet player: “Before lockdown, my career was taking off hugely … I had every single gig cancelled … I have no clue as to when I’ll start working again, or what I can expect to make money from without losing the skills and playing standard I’ve built up until now.”27 She reported that she did not benefit adequately from available government support because she had just begun her career. As her words indicate, artistic practices and skills may also be lost as a result of these developments, and several generations of young adults, believing they have nowhere to go in the creative and cultural sectors, may be forced to turn elsewhere. These are huge losses that could take years to recover from. 12. The impact of all such developments is exacerbated by views in some countries which seem to blame the cultural sectors themselves or hold “that work in the arts is somehow not real work, but a privilege”.28 The Special Rapporteur was disappointed to hear reports of officials appearing to suggest that those working in the arts should simply get other jobs, and saddened to hear from artists of being forced by economic circumstances to consider giving up their craft, a loss for them but also for their societies and the cultural rights of all. The dignity and importance of creative work, and the rights to work and to just and favourable conditions of work for those in the arts and culture sectors, must be fully recognized. If artists, cultural practitioners, cultural workers and cultural rights defenders are deprived of their 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 See www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/jun/17/uk-creative-industries-facing-74bn-drop-in-incomeafter-lockdown. See https://encoremusicians.com/blog/musicians-leaving-music-industry/. See contribution from Chile. See contribution from Ecuador. UNESCO, Culture in Crisis: Policy Guide for a Resilient Creative Sector (2020), p. 11. Olsberg SPI, Global Screen Production – The Impact of Film and Television Production on Economic Recovery from COVID-19 (25 June 2020). See www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200525005203/en/Global-Book-Publishers-Market-20202030-COVID-19-Impact-and-Recovery---ResearchAndMarkets.com. See contribution from Maldives. See https://encoremusicians.com/blog/musicians-leaving-music-industry/. See http://blogs.bbk.ac.uk/bbkcomments/tag/rishi-sunak/. 5