A/HRC/40/53 I. Introduction 1. Ten years ago, on 26 March 2009, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 10/23 in which it established, for a period of three years, a new special procedures mandate in the field of cultural rights as set out in the relevant United Nations human rights instruments. Every three years since then, the mandate has been extended by the Council, most recently in March 2018.1 2. Just over 70 years ago, on 20 December 1948, the General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 27 of which provided the first universal guarantee of cultural rights, including the right of all freely to participate in cultural life, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. The founding of the mandate on cultural rights was an important step towards implementing rights already guaranteed by international law and central to the vision of the Declaration. 3. Taken together, these two important anniversaries mark a critical moment for assessing the progress that has been made in the implementation of cultural rights by the work of the mandate holders2 and other actors, internationally and nationally, and enumerating the current challenges.3 Looking forward to the next 10 years, the Special Rapporteur suggests future priorities and strategies for achieving the vision set out in article 27 and guaranteeing the cultural rights of all. 4. Developments in today’s world also make this a timely review. Embattled humanity, living in a world of extremists of all kinds, of proliferating cultural relativism and cultural excuses for human rights violations, a world threatened by catastrophic climate change which threatens human civilization, including cultural heritage, where hate is being normalized, inequalities are growing, public space is being privatized and where the impulse to censor thrives, desperately needs full implementation of its cultural rights and other universal human rights. At the same time, there are many positive advances which must not be overlooked, including local initiatives aimed at increasing understanding and tolerance, creative efforts by cultural rights defenders to improve compliance, new possibilities for global cooperation in the promotion of cultural rights, multiplying challenges to sexual harassment in the fields of art and culture, the ongoing exercise of human creativity and scientific research, despite the obstacles, and growing recognition of areas of human rights, including cultural rights, such as those of persons with disabilities, peasants and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. In the present review, the Special Rapporteur aims to ascertain how to magnify the positive developments while revisiting the strategies needed to confront the negative ones. 5. Responding to the current moment, the organizers of the first ever Americas Cultural Summit, held in Ottawa in May 2018, which the Special Rapporteur was delighted to attend posed the following question to participants: “How can Governments, institutions, artists and citizens work together to help build more vibrant, open and pluralist democracies which respect, promote and protect the right of everyone to take part in cultural life?” That is one of the most pressing questions of our times. If cultural rights are to be more fully implemented, the world will have to find relevant and effective answers. 6. Wole Soyinka, the first African writer to win the Nobel Prize for literature, took part in an event with the Special Rapporteur to launch her 2018 report on universality and cultural diversity (A/73/227). He stressed the need for everyone to choose whether they stand “on the side of principles which elevate humanity, rather than degrade humanity”, and 1 2 3 2 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/CulturalRights/Pages/MandateInfo.aspx. For more information, see www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/CulturalRights/Pages/SRCulturalRightsIndex.aspx. As in previous reports, country situations mentioned include cases that have been the subject of previous consideration by United Nations mechanisms and officials, reports from States, multilateral institutions and civil society organizations, as well as being drawn from submissions for the present report.