A/70/279
(Geneva), and experts’ meetings on 10 and 11 June (Geneva) and 28 and 29 October
(New York University and Yale University) (see A/HRC/28/57, annex). Additional
experts contributed through correspondence (see A/HRC/28/57, annex).
Contributions from various States and stakeholders are available online. The Special
Rapporteur is grateful to all those who contributed.
II. International and national legal framework
A.
Relevant human rights provisions
7.
The right to science and culture is recognized in several human rights
instruments, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It is also enshrined
in regional human rights conventions and in many national constitutions, often
alongside a commitment to the protection of intellectual property.
8.
Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides for the right
of everyone (1) “freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy
the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits,” and to (2) “the
protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary
or artistic production of which he is the author.” This dual aspect of participation
and protection is included in all later articulations of the right to science and culture,
in particular article 15, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, with article 15, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, adding the
touchstone principles of “conservation, development, and diffusion” of science and
culture, the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity, and
the importance and desirability of international cooperation in the scientific and
cultural fields.
9.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has elaborated on
some aspects of the right to science and culture, through general comment 21 on the
right to take part in cultural life (see E/C.12/GC/21) and general comment 17, on the
right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests
resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which she or he is the
author (see E/C.12/GC/17).
10. General comment 17 distinguishes between intellectual property rights and
human rights, emphasizing that the moral and material interests of authors do not
necessarily coincide with the prevailing approach to intellectual property law. The
Committee instead ties the “material interests” of authors to the ability of individual
creators to enjoy an adequate standard of living, avoiding the conflation of this term
with property rights or rights of exclusion, especially when held by corporations
rather than individual creators.
11. General comment 17 emphasizes States’ obligations to strike an adequate
balance between protecting the moral and material interests of authors and other
human rights under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, including balancing the private interests of authors with the public’s interest
in enjoying broad access. States should therefore ensure that their legal and other
regimes for the protection of the moral and material interests of authors constitute
no impediment to States’ ability to comply with their core obligations in relation to
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