would include both economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights. But by 1951, it had become clear that two separate covenants were needed: the ICESCR and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). After almost twenty years of drafting debates, both covenants were adopted and opened for signature, ratification, and accession in 1966, and they entered into force in 1976. Human rights were now divided into economic, social, and cultural rights on the one hand, and civil and political rights on the other hand. This division would influence how cultural rights came to be perceived. This was unfortunate as scholars and practitioners around the world have since been unable to agree on the proper status not only of cultural rights but also of economic and social rights. The official UN position is that all human rights are “universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated,” but even within the human rights community, anyone arguing in favor of the usefulness of cultural rights has typically faced an uphill battle. Many human rights scholars and lawyers, as well as many of the Western states (e.g., the United States) consider civil and political rights to be the most important part of the human rights spectrum. They view economic, social, and cultural rights as mere policy goals, and those who do show an interest in these rights tend to focus on economic and social rights only. The Relationship of Cultural Rights to Other Human Rights In 2009, the Human Rights Council decided to establish a Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights. The mandate asks the Special Rapporteur – currently Alexandra Xanthaki, who took over as Special Rapporteur in October 2021 – to identify best practices in the promotion and protection of cultural rights at all levels, from the local to the international. They are furthermore requested to identify possible obstacles to the promotion and protection of cultural rights as well as to pay special attention to the relationship between cultural rights and cultural diversity and to integrate a gender and disabilities perspective into their work. The legal basis for cultural rights can be found in international human rights instruments that either directly or indirectly refer to culture. We have already mentioned the importance of the ICESCR. In all four parts of Article 15 ICESCR, the right to participate in cultural life is mentioned alongside the right to benefit from scientific progress and its applications, and the rights of authors. This article recognizes the rights to culture and to science, as we saw. It also requires States Parties to conserve, develop, and disseminate science and culture, to respect the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity, and to recognize the benefits of international contacts and cooperation in the scientific and cultural fields. Cultural rights are about furthering human creativity and learning. The connection of both science and culture to education is furthermore worth noting. It is education that allows access to knowledge, values and cultural heritage. That science and technology are classified, together with education, as cultural human rights is especially important when considered in relation to sustainability and climate change. Among the instruments that indirectly refer to culture we might mention the ICCPR, in particular the provisions protecting the right to privacy, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of association, and peaceful assembly. In addition, various UNESCO instruments are also relevant. These include instruments such as the Universal Declaration on 7