A/HRC/49/54 I. Introduction 1. The mandate in the field of cultural rights, which is part of the Human Rights Council special procedures, was first established in 2009. In October 2021, Alexandra Xanthaki was appointed as the third expert to hold the mandate. The Special Rapporteur is delighted to take over this role, which has been substantially enhanced by the visions, commitment and tireless work of both her predecessors, Farida Shaheed and Karima Bennoune. The Special Rapporteur would like to express to both former mandate holders her immense appreciation and respect for their tangible impact on preventing and protecting cultural rights and cultural diversity. 2. Cultural rights have been substantially clarified during the past few decades. This has enabled the international community to better understand the wide breadth of human rights issues that relate to cultural rights and cultural diversity. Yet, human rights standards are ever evolving and challenges ever-present, and cultural rights need to be more prominently present in human rights debates. Reflection on the scope of these rights and action on better protecting them are therefore still much needed. II. Legal framework 3. Human Rights Council resolution 10/23, which sets out the original and continuing scope of the mandate, also sets the contours of the legal framework that the Special Rapporteur will use. 4. At the core of the legal framework relating to this mandate is article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which recognizes that everyone has the right to participate freely in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. Article 27 (2) also recognizes the right of all persons to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which they are the authors. Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights creates legally binding obligations of the 171 States parties to this Covenant to recognize the right of all persons (a) to take part in cultural life, (b) to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications, and (c) to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which they are the author (art. 15 (1)). The Covenant requires States parties to take specific steps, legal and other, to achieve the full realization of this right, including measures for the conservation, the development and the diffusion of science and culture (art. 15 (2)). Steps must also be taken to guarantee the freedom indispensable for scientific research and creative activity (art. 15 (3)) and to recognize the benefits to be derived from the encouragement and development of international contacts and cooperation in the scientific and cultural fields (art. 15 (4)). 5. The understanding and use of these provisions in conjunction with other human rights provisions is essential to fully understand the remit of this mandate. Capturing the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of human rights standards in the field of cultural rights and cultural diversity is an important element of the Special Rapporteur’s work. 6. An important focus of the Special Rapporteur will be the realization of substantive equality in the exercise of cultural rights. In this, she is guided by article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (currently ratified by 173 States), in which States parties are required to ensure that persons belonging to minorities are not denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language. The Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples act as interpretative tools for article 27 of the Covenant and clarify the need for positive steps to be taken for the realization of the rights recognized in that article. 7. Substantive equality is also the aim of the obligations of the 182 States parties that have ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: there should be no discrimination in purpose or in effect in the cultural field 3