A/HRC/46/34 of belonging to society and to their sense of community.40 Ministries of culture have felt the impact on their own work.41 16. Approximately 90 per cent of the world’s museums were closed at one point or another during the pandemic, with UNESCO and the International Council of Museums warning as early as May 2020 that 13 per cent might never reopen.42 Any permanent closures will have a significant impact on the cultural rights and the right to education of many, and every effort should be made to avoid such closures. Where unavoidable, the collections of permanently closed cultural institutions must be handled in accordance with the relevant technical, ethical and cultural rights standards. 17. Cultural mobility and sharing of artwork in cultural spaces has been gravely affected. Many exchange programmes, performances, festivals, sporting events and traditional celebrations, and even a public consultation on a draft law on culture, 43 have been cancelled or postponed. Touring by musicians and others is largely at a standstill. International exhibitions are currently frozen and may not be possible for several years. While it is clear that some closures and lockdown measures are essential to protect the rights to life and health in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, those involved in the cultural sector seek transparency in applying scientific criteria to decision-making, especially when some businesses that may have a higher degree of transmission risk remain open while some cultural institutions that may have a lower transmission risk are closed. 18. Moreover, there have been misuses of the justification of the pandemic as a cloak for human rights abuses, as other United Nations experts have noted. 44 This is also true in the cultural rights area. The policing of artistic space and the pressure of censorship have increased for at-risk artists in the pandemic, with some Governments exploiting emergency powers to censor and criminalize artists, especially those seen to have dissenting views.45 The lack of implementation of international norms protecting artists and cultural rights defenders from prosecution and harassment as a result of their creative work has been pronounced. 46 For example, 10 artists associated with the collective Civic Lab in the Sudan were arrested while rehearsing a play, on the grounds of violating the COVID-19 curfew and of “public nuisance”. Five artists were sentenced to two months in prison and fines on the nuisance charges in September 2020,47 then acquitted on appeal. The Government of Cuba is using State regulations designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to harass members of Movimiento San Isidro, a coalition of artists, and the 27N movement advocating for artistic freedom. Artists were repeatedly detained in November 2020. 48 This resulted in masked protests by the artists and a hunger strike, and subsequently a brief dialogue between independent artists and the Government, which the Special Rapporteur hopes will continue. 19. Ugandan author and activist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was arrested in April 2020. He was charged with violations of COVID-19 measures and cyber-related crimes for a post made on Facebook, although his interrogation by State security agents, during which he was reportedly tortured, focused on his recently published political satire novel, The Greedy Barbarian. Rukirabashaija was subsequently released on bail and faces trial for charges related to violations of COVID-19 measures.49 20. Other artists have faced threats in response to socially engaged artwork created during the pandemic. On 18 April 2020, the collective that runs Delight Lab, an audiovisual light 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 See contribution from Finland. See, e.g., contribution from Maldives. See https://en.unesco.org/news/covid-19-unesco-and-icom-concerned-about-situation-faced-worldsmuseums. See contribution from Panama. See, e.g., A/HRC/44/49. See, e.g., contribution from Freemuse. See also numerous cases detailed in the contribution from PEN International. See www.hrw.org/news/2020/09/21/sudanese-artists-imprisoned-pro-democracy-chants. See https://freemuse.org/news/joint-call-for-the-release-of-imprisoned-rappers-denis-solis-gonzalezand-didier-almagro-in-cuba-and-an-end-to-police-harassment-against-artists-in-the-country/. Contribution from PEN International. See also https://pen-international.org/news/uganda-drop-allcharges-against-kakwenza-rukirabashaija-1. 7