A/HRC/17/38/Add.1 18. Brazil has benefitted from programmes of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Among its three priorities areas of cooperation, the 2010 IDB Country Strategy for Brazil identified the reduction of inequalities of gender and race in the region.7 2. International cooperation framework and some illustrative related initiatives 19. The United Nations Development Assistance Framework identifies racial/ethnic equality as one of its strategic outcomes.8 The UNCT helps to develop advocacy and communication activities and provides technical advice and cooperation to the Government in aspects related to social inclusion, including in some instances, the promotion and protection of cultural rights and related human rights. 20. UNESCO, for example, supports several culture-related projects and programmes, including the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Latin America (CRESPIAL), of which Brazil is a member. 21. Brazil is also cooperating with the World Interlectual Property Organization (WIPO), where, in May 2009, it introduced a text, together with Ecuador and Paraguay, to discuss a future treaty for improved access for blind, visually impaired and other reading disabled persons. The aim is to ensure that laws protecting intellectual property rights do not constitute an unreasonable or discriminatory barrier to access to information and cultural materials by persons with visual disabilities. Using opportunities offered by current technologies, the treat would allow for the import and export of works in accessible formats. 22. Brazil has an agreement with Portugal that lays the foundation for establishing a cultural portal of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries as a virtual network enabling diverse stakeholders in the field of culture (such as Government authorities, academics, artists and other producers of culture, civil society and other organizations) to communicate, exchange experiences and plan joint actions. B. National legal and policy framework 1. The national legal framework 23. Brazil is a Federal State composed of 26 federated states, a Federal District (the capital city, Brasilia) and 5,507 municipalities. The supreme law of the State is the 1988 Federal Constitution. Federated states are autonomous and have the prerogative to adopt their own constitution and laws within the limits established by the Federal Constitution. Municipalities enjoy restricted autonomy, as they are subject to the Federal Constitution and the legislation adopted by the relevant federated State. The Federal Constitution and the protection of cultural rights 24. The Federal Constitution establishes the legal framework for the protection of cultural rights. It recognizes, inter alia, that the national Government shall guarantee the full exercise of cultural rights and access to sources of national culture; support and promote the appreciation and diffusion of cultural expressions, including expressions of popular, indigenous and Afro-Brazilian cultures and other groups (article 215). 25. The Federal Constitution protects cultural heritage, defined as individual or collective tangible and intangible goods related to the identity, action and memory of the 7 8 See Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Country Strategy with Brazil, p. 5. The United Nations System in Brazil comprises 20 agencies, funds and programmes. 7