A/HRC/31/59 20. The Special Rapporteur regrets that rural cultures are often not recognized as cultures and risk being undervalued, despite the fact that nearly half of the world’s population is rural. She will bear in mind the importance of the cultural rights of persons living in rural areas and be sensitive to bias towards urban contexts, what has been labelled “urban normativity”.11 B. The legal basis of cultural rights 21. The legal basis for cultural rights can be found in numerous international human rights instruments. Explicit references include rights that expressly refer to culture. Implicit references include rights that, although not expressly referring to culture, may constitute an important legal grounding for the protection of cultural rights as defined above. The Special Rapporteur refers in this regard to the first report of her predecessor on this issue (see A/HRC/14/36, in particular paras. 11-20). Therefore, important legal bases for cultural rights are to be found not only in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in particular articles 13-15, but also in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in particular in provisions protecting the right to privacy, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly. Those rights are also key to ensuring the full realization of cultural rights. Indeed, cultural rights transcend the juncture of civil and political rights and economic and social rights and thus are important markers of interdependence and indivisibility. 22. The Special Rapporteur is mindful that various instruments of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are relevant to her mandate, in particular those devoted to the protection of cultural diversity, the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions and the protection and safeguard of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. She observes in particular that, in accordance with article 5 of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, all persons have the right to participate in the cultural life of their choice and conduct their own cultural practices, subject to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. She intends to further exchange and develop working relationships with UNESCO, a process she has already commenced. C. Universality of human rights, cultural rights and cultural diversity 23. The Special Rapporteur is unequivocally committed to the principle of the universality of human rights and to cultural diversity and, just like her predecessor, to recognizing and reinforcing the organic relationship between these two commitments. As UNESCO’s 2009 World Report asserts, “recognition of cultural diversity grounds the universality of human rights in the realities of our societies”.12 24. The Special Rapporteur identifies as key the following principles, which were recalled by the Council in its resolution 19/6. As enshrined in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, while the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Vienna Declaration and 11 12 See e.g. Gregory Fulkerson and Alexander Thomas, eds., Studies in Urbanormativity: Rural Community and Urban Society (Lexington Books, 2013). UNESCO, World Report: Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue (2009), p. 225. 7