A/77/290 free, prior and informed consent of concerned communities, even when required by law, leads to violations of cultural rights and of the right to development in the very name of development. 53 War also impedes the realization of cultural rights in development and affects sustainable development, including its cultural element, through destruction and through impediments to participation in religious, educational, social and cultural life. 54 Meanwhile, research conducted by the British Council confirms the missed opportunities for positive change that the omission of culture from the Sustainable Development Goals has meant. 55 B. International practice 45. In 2005, United Cities and Local Governments created its Culture Committee with the explicit mandate to implement cultural rights in local sustainable development, in particular through the Agenda 21 for Culture, referred to in a number of contributions. The Agenda 21 for Culture was approved in May 2004 by cities and local governments committed to human rights, cultural diversity, sustainability, participatory democracy and the creation of the conditions for peace. 46. Between 2010 and 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), together with United Cities and Local Governments and other civil society organizations, advocated the inclusion of culture as a fourth pillar of sustainable development, 56 to humanize development and merge the still-separate narratives of “human development” and “sustainable” development. 57 However, the three-pillar approach, restricted to the social, economic and environmental dimensions of development, was maintained. In 2015, United Cities and Local Governments adopted the document entitled “Culture 21: actions – commitments on the role of culture in sustainable cities”, containing 100 actions grouped under nine commitments, which constitutes a complete human-rights-based tool kit for cultural policies and the implementation of cultural rights in local sustainable development. 58 In the document, it is stated that development can only be “sustainable” if culture is given a central role and if we explicitly consider the integral value of culture and cultural factors, such as memory, creativity, diversity and knowledge, to the human development process. 47. There is an ongoing discussion on measuring the contribution of culture to the Sustainable Development Goals and on how the challenging nature of such measurement may have contributed to its marginalization in national and international development strategies. Measuring the contribution of culture to the achievement of every target would lead to clear and informed decisions, 59 yet it is not included in the mechanisms of the Goals. A notable exception is indicator 4.7.1 of the Goals and its associated metadata, in which cultural diversity and human rights constitute two of eight themes used to assess various aspects of education. 60 However, indicators and metadata for other relevant targets either focus primarily on the economic aspects of the target in question or do not make it possible to monitor the contribution of culture __________________ 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 22-12659 Contribution of Natural Justice and Earthlife Africa, pp. 1–4. Contribution of the Association of Reintegration of Crimea, pp. 2–4. British Council, The Missing Pillar (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 2020). See United Cities and Local Governments, “Culture: fourth pillar of sustainable development”, policy statement United Cities and Local Governments (2010). Contribution of the United Cities and Local Governments Culture Committee, p. 1. Ibid. Contributions of Gabeiras y Asociados, Madrid, p. 1, and Comunidad de Conocimiento en Cultura y Desarrollo de REDS-SDSN, p. 3. See the contribution of the International Organization for the Right to Education and Freedom of Education for further analysis. 13/24