A/HRC/43/50 54. Proliferating cultural relativism and cultural excuses for human rights violations, and the manipulation of culture to deny rights, sometimes even articulated during Council debates,38 pose a real threat to the work of cultural rights defenders, including by seeming to justify violations and increasing the likelihood of impunity, and shaping the popular view of such violations and making them harder to challenge, and also by making some other human rights defenders wary of cultural rights altogether (A/HRC/40/53, para. 4). Meanwhile, in recent years, respect for cultural diversity has also been threatened by those who seek to impose monolithic identities and ways of being, by those who advocate various forms of supremacy and discrimination. 55. The erasure of particular aspects of culture, cultural heritage, history and identities – which may be essential for cultural rights defenders, or what they are seeking to protect and defend – poses particular risks to such defenders and their work. For example, the criminalization of sexual orientation in many countries renders invisible cultural and artistic expression related to “gayness”, thereby suppressing the cultural content itself and regulating those who create or defend it. The deliberate disappearing of the contributions, heritage and histories of religious and ethnic minorities, and frequent narration of history from certain majoritarian perspectives, increases the difficulties and dangers facing those seeking to protect such minority cultures and their traces. 39 56. Discourses of exclusion, targeting migrants, minorities, non-religious persons, refugees, indigenous persons, women and others, and sometimes even propounded by world leaders, including on social media, and about which the Special Rapporteur has raised concerns since the beginning of her term, exacerbate the problems facing those seeking to defend the cultural rights of such persons and cultural diversity in accordance with international norms (A/HRC/31/59, para. 19). The “othering” of our fellow human beings, the opposite of the cultural rights focus on inclusion and of the promise of equality and dignity contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is an increasingly grave threat that renders the work of cultural rights defenders more fraught and tears at the fabric of “the human family” itself. 57. There is a range of other particular challenges faced by cultural rights defenders. Many human rights constituencies fail to include cultural rights and the culture sectors in their work, while many cultural actors neglect to incorporate human rights and cultural rights issues in theirs. This often leaves a gap of protection, in particular in certain areas. For example, many cultural rights actors have not incorporated a gender perspective into their work, while many women’s rights advocates have not considered cultural rights issues (A/HRC/40/53, para. 61). Moreover, cultural rights defenders often encounter a lack of recognition of their work as human rights work, and there is often a lack of data or information-gathering about it. 58. The spaces for enjoying cultural rights and for cultural expressions are being increasingly limited. Public spaces, which are essential for cultural rights, are being privatized and are not fully accessible (A/74/255). The increasing homogenization and commodification of culture and cultural spaces generally represents an additional set of obstacles. Lack of adequate funding for culture, and its misperception as a luxury item, increase the difficulty of the work of cultural rights defenders and also affect their own economic rights. 59. The impulse to censor thrives. For example, although the Special Rapporteur saluted the 2019 “Women, Wine and Words Festival”, she regrets that its organizers were reportedly required to submit scripts and films for official scrutiny prior to the festival. 60. Gender discrimination persists across cultural sectors and in cultural institutions. This remains a major challenge for women cultural rights defenders, who face particular risks and challenges given the complex relationship of gender and culture. 40 38 39 40 See, e.g., Elizabeth O’Casey, “‘Cultural practices and religious specificities’ and the shame of some States at the Human Rights Council”, Humanist International, blog post, 7 July 2015. See, e.g., A/71/317, para. 38, and A/68/296, para. 31. See, e.g., www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25074&LangID=E. 13