A/78/213 C. The cultural sector is not just an economic asset 56. Culture and trade are often described as being in inherent conflict w ith one another. 52 This recognizes a tension that exists between preserving cultural diversity and liberalizing trade in certain areas. Some of the challenges associated with commercialization and the right to take part in cultural life have been addressed in previous reports, including the misappropriation or distortion of cultural expressions for commercial purposes 53 and the constraining of cultural diversity and cultural traditions brought about by the dominance of commercial advertising and marketing. 54 Similar risks manifest themselves in the realm of international trade, which prioritizes economic development over cultural and diversity considerations. 55 57. Neither under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, nor under the General Agreement on Trade in Services is there a “cultural exception” clause that would allow States parties, representing the whole of the population, to derogate from their obligations to liberalize trade in services to protect cultural rights. States are permitted to exclude some sectors from their specific commitments to national treatment and market access under the General Agreement on Trade in Services 56 and have relied on this flexibility to carve out some policy space for the protection of cultural industries, for example, through the provision of subsidies, quotas or restricting market access to foreign service providers. In some trade agreements, issues of culture are only indirectly addressed through the clauses that carve out space for States to pursue their cultural policies, through the protection of commercial activity in cultural industries. Moreover, States have opted to include limited provisions relating to cultural heritage and traditional knowledge in trade agreements. 57 As those provisions depend on individual State policies and negotiation outcomes in the context of trade agreements, which are often very harsh, their scope and content lack the coherence and consistency necessary to protect universal human rights. Some recent good practices that include broad exceptions for the protection of cultural industries and Indigenous traditional knowledge in trade agreements include the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union and its member States, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. 58. UNESCO has pushed for development projects where the cultural sector contributes in a non-economic manner. 58 Notably, since 2019, the UNESCO Art Lab for human rights and dialogue, in collaboration with Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has supported projects involving humanitarian and development agencies that allow margina lized individuals or communities to assert their voices and claim their role as stakeholders in development __________________ 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 16/24 See, for example, Ivan Bernier, “Trade and culture” in Patrick FJ Marcory, Arthur E Appleton and Michael G Plummer, eds., The World Trade Organization: Legal, Economic and Political Analysis (2005), p. 2331; and Patricia M Goff, “Trade and culture: the ongoing debate”, International Journal of Cultural Policy, vol. 25 (2019), p. 547. See A/HRC/28/57. See A/69/286. See Achilles Skordas, Gábor Halmai and Lisa Mardikian, eds., Economic Constitutionalism in a Turbulent World (Elgar Publishing, 2023). Specific commitments relate to providing market access and not discriminating against foreign service providers (national treatment rule). Susy Frankel, “Attempts to protect Indigenous culture through free trade agreements” in Christoph Graber, Karolina Kuprecht and Jessica Lai, eds ., International Trade in Indigenous Cultural Heritage (Edward Elgar, 2002), p. 118. Positive examples at the national and regional levels: the contributions of Brazil, Chile (annex 1) , European Union, Mauritius; and negative example: contribution of A ssociation Djazairouna. 23-14310