A/HRC/31/59 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 3 February 2016 Original: English Human Rights Council Thirty-first session Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Report of the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights Note by the Secretariat The Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Karima Bennoune, submits the present report in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 19/6. Since the Special Rapporteur commenced her mandate on 1 November 2015, the report is preliminary in nature, reflecting on the valuable work undertaken by the previous mandate holder and highlighting priority areas in which she believes further advances should be made. In the report, the Special Rapporteur also introduces the issue that will constitute the focus of her first report to the General Assembly: the intentional destruction of cultural heritage as a violation of human rights. GE.16-01416(E) *1601416*