A/78/213 27. Notwithstanding the effort that the World Bank has put into addressing ongoing criticism, it is important to continuously review whether, in practice, the standards are implemented and clear redress avenues are accessible. E. World Trade Organization 28. The World Trade Organization (WTO) serves as the bedrock of the multilateral trading system with the overarching objective of regulating and liberalizing trade. WTO provides a set of trade rules and a forum for negotiating trade agreements and resolving disputes among its member states. Unlike the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), WTO is not a specialized agency of the United Nations, but it is tasked with cooperating with both organizations in the spirit of economic coherence and development. 23 29. WTO continues to be subject to consistent human rights critiques to the effect that the trade organization facilitates and encourages human rights violations. 24 Even when WTO rules and agreements successfully facilitate economic growth and development, they can contemporaneously infringe on human rights, including cultural rights. These critiques have only intensified in recent years, including with respect to the intellectual property rights barriers presented by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) in securing equal access to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines. 25 30. Although WTO lacks an explicit human rights mandate, at an organizational level, its activities are linked to human rights, as was recognized by the former Director-General of WTO, Pascal Lamy. 26 It remains, like other international organizations, bound by any obligation incumbent upon it under general rules of international law. It is therefore obligated to comply with human rights, that are part of customary international law and of the general principles of law. 27 31. Generally, there is limited scope for the protection of cultural rights under WTO law. Article XX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade allows states to derogate from obligations under the Agreement and adopt measures for the protection of national policy goals, including “the protection of national treasures of artistic, historic or archaeological value”. 28 Article IV also provides an exception for cinematograph films in the form of “screen quotas”. 32. The WTO perceives culture as “goods” or “services”; the preservation of cultural identity, participation in cultural life and access to heritage can only be protected by individual States, to the extent that they produce economic value. Limits to the scope of trade liberalization in cultural industries do not take into account the __________________ 23 24 25 26 27 28 10/24 According to article III of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (Marrakesh, 15 April 1994, entered into force 1 January 1995), United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1867, No. 31874. See, for example, Sarah Joseph, Blame it on the WTO?: A Human Rights Critique (New York, Oxford University Press, 2013); and Padideh Ala'i, “A human rights critique of the WTO: some preliminary observations”, Articles in Law Reviews and Other Academic Journals, paper 303 (2001). Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, “Statement on the lack of equitable and non-discriminatory access to COVID-19 vaccines” (2022). Pascal Lamy, “Towards shared responsibility and greater coherence: human rights, trade and macroeconomic policy”, Colloquium on Human Rights in the Global Economy, Geneva, 13 January 2010. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, E/C.12/2016/1, para. 7. See also, Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization. Art. XX (f), General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Geneva, 30 October 1947, provisionally applied since 1 January 1948), United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 55, No. 814, p. 187. 23-14310