A/73/227 the identities of the groups and societies making up humankind. As a source of exchange, innovation and creativity, cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature. In this sense, it is the common heritage of humanity and should be recognized and affirmed for the benefit of present and future generations ” (art. 1). It is further emphasized that respect for cultural diversity is a guarantor of international peace and security and of social cohesion, and a root of development, as well as “an ethical imperative, inseparable from respect for human dignity” (art. 4). It grounds respect for cultural diversity in a commitment to the implementation of universal human rights, in general, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in particular. The concept is not an override of universality: “no one may invoke cultural diversity to infringe upon human rights guaranteed by international law, nor to limit their scope” (art. 4). 7. In recent years, respect for cultural diversity has been threatened by thos e who deny this human reality and seek to impose monolithic identities and ways of being, by those who advocate various forms of supremacy and discrimination, and by diverse populists, fundamentalists and extremists (see A/HRC/34/56 and A/72/155). Cultural diversity is still wrongly understood as being in opposition to universality, including by some Governments and other actors who misuse it as an excuse for violatio ns of the very universal human rights within which its enjoyment is explicitly embedded, and by others who oppose the concept altogether. 8. In this discussion, we must recognize the very real histories of forced assimilation that have sometimes been imposed, inter alia, on indigenous peoples, minorities and people living under colonialism and the disdain with which their cultural resources have often been treated. Universality is about human dignity, not about homogeneity. But we must also recognize the d iversity of diversities, not only between, but within all human collectivities, 2 and the fact that, among others, women, minorities, freethinkers and persons targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity have also been wrongfully subject to hegemony and abuse within groups. 9. The Special Rapporteur is unequivocally committed to the principle of the universality of human rights and to cultural diversity and to recognizing and reinforcing the organic relationship between these two commitmen ts. “Provided that cultural rights are fully understood as being part of the wider human rights system and therefore grounded in existing norms and principles of international human rights law, they allow for an enriched understanding of the principle of u niversality of human rights by taking into consideration cultural diversity” (A/HRC/14/36, para. 3). 10. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur will focus on the cultural rights approach to the universality of human rights, on the close interrelationship between universality and cultural diversity, and on the ways that the fuller realization of cultural rights can contribute to enhancing and defending the universality of human rights. In preparing it, she held two expert consultations, in Geneva and New York, convening experts from every region of the world, with a range of perspectives. 3 __________________ 2 3 18-12312 “The recognition of diversity within different cultures is extremely important in the contemporary world, since we are constantly bombarded by oversimple generalizations about “Western civilization”, “Asian values”, “African cultures” and so on. These unfounded readings of history and civilization are not only intellectually shallow, they also add to the divisiveness of the world in which we live.” Amartya Sen, Human Rights and Asian Values (New York, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, 1997). Available at www.carnegiecouncil.org/ publications/archive/morgenthau/254. As in previous reports, country situations mentioned herein include cases that have been the subject of previous consideration by United Nations mechanisms and officials, re ports from States, multilateral institutions and civil society organizations. 5/26