A/HRC/40/53 17. Finally, in her most recent report to the General Assembly (A/73/227), the Special Rapporteur took the opportunity of the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to examine specifically the cultural rights approach to the universality of human rights and demonstrate how cultural rights contribute to strengthening the universal framework of human rights. She recalled the long-established international legal principle that the exercise of any human right or cultural diversity may not be invoked to infringe upon human rights guaranteed by international law, nor to limit their scope, a principle which guards against relativist attempts to use what are claimed to be cultural, religious or traditional arguments to undermine human rights. 7 She particularly challenged cultural relativism or the misuse of cultural rights to justify violations. Cultural rights are not a justification for violations of rights or discrimination. In her report, the Special Rapporteur reiterated that: “Universality is not meant to be a weapon against cultural diversity, nor is cultural diversity a weapon against universality. The two principles are mutually reinforcing and interlocking.” (para. 47). It is now clearly established beyond question that cultural rights are situated within the universal human rights framework. Specific cultural rights topics covered by the mandate 18. Two thematic reports have been dedicated to developing the understanding of the right to access and enjoy cultural heritage, and the negative human rights consequences of its intentional destruction (A/HRC/17/38 and A/71/317), issued in 2011 and 2016 respectively, an area that had not previously been examined by human rights mechanisms. In both reports, the mandate holders made it clear that cultural heritage is a human rights issue and elaborated a human rights approach to its protection. They set out the cultural rights related to heritage, including the rights of individuals and groups to know, understand, enter, visit, make use of, maintain and develop cultural heritage, as well as to benefit from the cultural heritage of others. In addition, they emphasized the right to participate in the identification, interpretation and development of heritage, as well as the right to participate in the design and implementation of preservation and safeguard programmes, raise awareness of the vital work of cultural heritage defenders and clarify the relationship of cultural rights with the relevant international criminal law and the UNESCO framework. 19. Three further thematic reports, issued in 2012 and 2015, have been dedicated to the specific rights recognized in article 15 (1) (b) and (c) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the right to benefit from scientific progress and its applications (A/HRC/20/26) and the right to the protection of the moral and material interests from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which one is the author (A/HRC/28/57 and A/70/279). Addressing two aspects of intellectual property rights, copyright law and patent policy, with a human rights approach offered new perspectives on the interactions between those two fields of international law. In the reports the Special Rapporteur highlighted the importance of guarding against the privatization of knowledge to such an extent that it deprives individuals of opportunities to take part in cultural life, and considered the balance needed between benefiting from the creativity of others and recognizing the rights of authors. In all three reports, the development of a “common good” approach to knowledge and creative production was encouraged. 20. In all the reports, the Special Rapporteur stressed the strong interlinkages between the different rights cited in article 15 (1) (a), (b) and (c): those rights all relate to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding, and to creative human responses to a constantly changing world. A prerequisite for their implementation is ensuring the preconditions for everyone to continuously engage in critical thinking and have the opportunity and means to investigate and contribute new knowledge, regardless of frontiers. Those rights require that States take the necessary steps for the “conservation, the development and the diffusion of science and culture” (article 15 (2)), “respect the freedom indispensable for scientific research and 7 See, among other references, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 30; Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, part I, para. 5; UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, art. 4; and Human Rights Council resolution 10/23, para. 4. 5