A/HRC/40/53 human rights defenders.31 The Association produced a series of videos on the reports on fundamentalism, extremism and cultural rights 32 and used them as a resource for those working in the development sector and the basis of a webinar. The reports were also referenced as a tool by the Observatory on the Universality of Rights. 33 B. Developments within the United Nations system 76. In the majority of their thematic reports, the mandate holders have also made recommendations to the United Nations human rights system and its various mechanisms in order to improve the recognition and enjoyment of cultural rights and strengthen the indivisibility of all human rights and the coherence of the system. 77. Positive developments include the use of new language about cultural rights in the work of other human rights bodies. In September 2015, a joint statement by 57 States at the Human Rights Council reaffirmed the right to freedom of expression, including creative and artistic expression, stating that they were critical to the human spirit, the development of vibrant cultures and the functioning of democratic societies. In 2014, in resolution 27/31 on civil society space, the Human Rights Council emphasized the important role of artistic expression and creativity. 78. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence stressed the importance of actions in the field of culture as one of the four central measures needed to prevent recurrence of conflicts and support sustainable peace (A/HRC/30/42). He reiterated that position in 2017 in a framework approach to prevention that he had developed (A/72/523) and in the joint study, issued in conjunction with the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, on transitional justice and the prevention of gross violations of human rights (A/HRC/37/65). 79. The work of the mandate on the cultural rights of women has attracted the attention of many human rights mechanisms dedicated to the rights of women, including UNWomen, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice,34 who have integrated this perspective into their work and taken measures to develop their collaboration with the mandate, including meeting directly with the Special Rapporteur. More needs to be done to systematize such collaboration. 80. One of the most successful initiatives at the Human Rights Council concerns cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage. A joint statement, rallying an unprecedented 146 States, condemned the intentional destruction of cultural heritage and called for the identification of best practices for its prevention and for raising awareness of the mutually reinforcing relation between the protection of cultural heritage and human rights and of the risks faced by defenders of cultural heritage. In the resulting resolutions 33/20 and 37/17 the Council confirmed that these are matters for it to follow, in cooperation with the mandate on cultural rights.35 81. Although it is not possible to establish a clear causal relationship, it appears that the work of the mandate has contributed to increasing the number of submissions received, questions raised and recommendations made by the treaty monitoring bodies on cultural rights in their dialogues with States parties, especially the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The concluding observations of the Committee related to article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have been on an 31 32 33 34 35 See Isabel Marler, “5 reasons the work of the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights matters to feminists”, 24 November 2017, Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID). See www.awid.org/resources/impact-fundamentalisms-and-extremisms-cultural-rights-interview-unspecial-rapporteur. See www.oursplatform.org/resource/impact-fundamentalism-extremism-cultural-rights-reportspecial-rapporteur-field-cultural-rights/. See, in particular, the reports of the Working Group A/HRC/38/46 and A/HRC/29/40. See also www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/ESCR/Pages/CulturalRightsProtectionCulturalHeritage.aspx. 15