A/78/213 41. Important voices keep cautioning that the omission of culture and cultural rights from the implementation of the Goals is problematic. In June 2023, this omission was acknowledged in the preparatory meetings for the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, during discussions on the draft political declaration to be adopted during the Summit to be held in September 2023. Hopefully, the outcome will bring balance to the discussions and recognize the importance of the cultural dimension of development, being at least on the same level as social development. 42. Cultural development is completely absent from the TRIPS Agreement, the multilateral agreement that provides the minimum standards of intellectual p roperty protection. No attention is paid to the protection of cultural rights, traditional cultural expressions and traditional knowledge. There are no special carve -outs from TRIPS obligations permitted on these matters. United Nations bodies and the Offi ce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have repeatedly urged WTO and its member States to take into account cultural rights in the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. 42 As highlighted by a previous Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, the obligations of States under intellectual property treaties must not jeopardize the implementation of their obligations under human rights treaties (see A/70/279, para. 89). 43. Cultural development is completely absent from IMF discussions. Not many development projects focusing on cultural development are funded by the World Bank. The organization would counter-argue that States do not ask for projects that focus on the cultural dimension of development, and unfortunately, a survey of the reviews that States have submitted to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs on sustainable development supports such an argument. B. Cultural rights are still not explicitly addressed in and linked to development 44. On the rare occasions when international organizations include the cultural dimension of development, they do not discuss nor acknowledge cultural rights, even if, indirectly, their work relates to them. The references to cultural rights in the Mondiacult Declaration have renewed the commitment of States to include cultural rights in their cultural policies; now is the time for States to also put cultural rights at the core of and throughout their development plans. In the national voluntary reports 43 discussed during the high-level political forum on sustainable development convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council held in July 2023, there is no link made between “cultural diversity” (Chile), “social cohesion” (Burkina Faso), “well-being” (Cambodia), “official language of minority communities” (Canada), “universality of human rights” (European Union), “changes in behaviours and lifestyles” (France), “cultural exchange” (Kuwait), “inclusive society” (Sing apore), and cultural rights. 45. States also have to prioritize projects that put cultural rights at the centre of development and, where necessary, submit them for funding to financial and development agencies. It was reported to the Special Rapporteur t hat it was hard to convince Governments to borrow for social and cultural development initiatives. International trade and development agencies can only fund the projects submitted to them. If States do not put forward projects that protect the diversity o f cultural values and ways of life as part of development or strengthen the capacities of the cultural __________________ 42 43 23-14310 See E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/13, para. 65; E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/9; and E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/9. See also A/70/279, paras. 96 and 107. Available at https://hlpf.un.org/countries. See also the contributions of the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan. 13/24