A/HRC/46/34/Add.1 I. Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights visited Tuvalu from 18 to 24 September 2019. She thanks the Government of Tuvalu for the invitation to visit the country. 2. The visit of the Special Rapporteur took place during a period of intense international engagement and political transition in the country. In August 2019, Tuvalu hosted the fiftieth Pacific Islands Forum, which was followed, on 9 September, by general elections leading to a change of Prime Minister. The resulting governmental transition in the Cabinet and various ministerial departments made the preparation and conduct of the visit of the Special Rapporteur more challenging. The expert thanks all those who made themselves available during her visit, notwithstanding the transition, and also expresses regret that meetings with some relevant decisionmakers and government bodies could not be arranged under those circumstances. 3. The Special Rapporteur did have the opportunity to meet and hold discussions with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials in the Ministries of Trade, Tourism, Environment and Labour, as well as the Director of the Department of the Environment, the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Rural Development, the Director of the Department of Culture, the Chief Librarian and Archivist of the National Library and Archives and the Attorney General.1 4. She also held substantive discussions with representatives of the Office of the Ombudsman, which is also acting as the national human rights institution, the Funafuti Kaupule and with a number of civil society experts and organizations. The Special Rapporteur thanks all of them for taking the time to meet with her and for the information and insights that they shared. She also thanks the United Nations coordination officer in Tuvalu for all the support provided during the visit. 5. The visit was the first one to the country by a special procedure mandate holder since 2012 and was an indication of the intention of the Government to further engage with United Nations human rights mechanisms. The Special Rapporteur welcomes this engagement and encourages the new Government to continue it and accept further requests by special procedure mandate holders to visit the country. II. General context and background 6. The territory of Tuvalu consists of five low-lying coral atolls, four reef islands and more than 100 islets located in the south-western Pacific Ocean, south of the Equator. The islands encompass a total of 26 square kilometres that seldom rise higher than 4.5 metres above sea level and are spread across an area of more than 700 kilometres between the atoll furthest north (Namumea) and the island furthest south (Niulakita). The size and low elevation of the islands makes Tuvalu particularly vulnerable to any change in climate or sea level, its land regularly experiencing flooding in stormy weather. This renders it especially vulnerable to the effects of the climate emergency. The large distance between each of the islands also makes reliable transportation, communication and cooperation between islands difficult and represents an additional challenge for all aspects of governance, as does the country’s remoteness. 7. Formally known as the Ellice Islands at the height of the protestant missionary presence (from 1861) and the British protectorate (1892–1976), Tuvalu gained its independence and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in 1978. It joined the United Nations in 2000 and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1991. It is also a member of the Alliance of Small Island States. Tuvalu is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. The British Crown is represented by a Tuvaluan Governor-General. As there are no political parties, members of parliament are independents who are meant to represent the interests of their constituencies. 1 The names of governmental bodies listed here are those that were in use when the Special Rapporteur met with representatives thereof. 3