A/HRC/28/57 6. The present report is the first of two consecutive studies by the Special Rapporteur on intellectual property policy as it relates to the right to science and culture. This first report focuses on the interface of copyright policy with the protection of authors’ moral and material interests and the public’s right to benefit from scientific and cultural creativity. A second report, to be submitted to the General Assembly in 2015, will examine the connection between the right to science and culture and patent policy. II. International and national legal framework A. The right to science and culture 7. The right to science and culture is recognized in various human rights instruments, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 8. Article 27 of the Universal Declaration provides for everyone’s right (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.” 9. These dual aspects of cultural participation and protection of authorship are included in all later articulations of the right to science and culture, including article 15, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Covenant further echoes the Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), highlighting the touchstone principles of conservation, development and diffusion of science and culture, freedom as an essential precondition for the realization of the right to science and culture and the importance of international cooperation to achieve that right (art. 15, paras. 2, 3 and 4). 10. The right to science and culture is also enshrined in several regional human rights conventions and in many national constitutions, often alongside a commitment to the protection of intellectual property. 11. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has drawn up interpretive guidance pertaining to some aspects of the right to science and culture. 12. Protection of authorship is the subject of the Committee’s general comment No. 17 (2005) 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 he or she is the author, which 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 Comment ties the “material interests” of authors to the ability of creators to enjoy an adequate standard of living and emphasizes that authors’ rights should be protected in ways that do not unduly burden cultural participation. 13. Addressing cultural participation, the Committee’s general comment No. 21 (2009) on the right of everyone to take part in cultural life emphasizes the importance of cultural diversity and being able to engage with and contribute to the cultural life of the broader community. 14. The right of everyone to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications has not yet been the subject of a general comment. However, the Special Rapporteur’s 2012 thematic report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/20/26) addressed the tensions between the right to benefit from scientific progress and its applications and intellectual 4