A/HRC/46/34/Add.1 what aspects of culture and cultural heritage to prioritize the preservation of, and about how to memorialize, any heritage losses is essential. 24 68. International support for the cultural survival of Tuvalu and the human rights, including cultural rights, of Tuvaluans requires the full implementation of State obligations under the Paris Agreement by all States parties. While it is the sovereign decision of every State to become or remain a party to a treaty, subject to the rules of treaty law, when a State remains outside or withdraws from essential environmental accords such as the Paris Agreement, or fails to implement them, given the ongoing documented human rights impact of climate change, it is acting knowingly in a manner that harms the human rights and cultures of all and is failing to respect its obligation to cooperate internationally. This should be understood as irreconcilable with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including Articles 55 and 56.25 A failure to fulfil international climate change commitments is a violation of the State’s obligations to protect human rights, including cultural rights.26 69. Human rights obligations related to climate change should be understood at both the national and transnational levels. 27 In many Human Rights Council resolutions, it has repeatedly noted that the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response.28 IV. Conclusions and recommendations A. Conclusions 70. The Special Rapporteur calls upon the authorities to uphold their commitment to implement the human rights obligations of Tuvalu, including its cultural rights obligations, for all Tuvaluans without discrimination and to increase its collaboration with human rights mechanisms. She hopes that the Government will give serious consideration to the full implementation of her recommendations and to following up on the recommendations and reports of United Nations experts and mechanisms. A review of past reports indicates that implementation of some important recommendations remains outstanding. 71. In the Special Rapporteur’s report on universality and cultural diversity, issued in 2018, she noted that each society was encouraged to highlight the expressions of universal human rights embodied in its languages and traditions, to identify in its own diverse cultural resources, in sayings, tales and philosophical wisdom, the values at the root of human rights and of human dignity. Connecting universal values with lived realities and aspirations and being able to quote an article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, together with a traditional saying that conveys the same message, reinforced the ownership of those values. 29 As underscored in the UNESCO World Report in 2009, it is vital to ground the universality of human rights in the realities of our societies by drawing attention to their appropriation by all individuals who can identify the rights with a sense of ownership, regardless of language, tradition and location.30 The Special Rapporteur suggests that more work needs to be done in Tuvalu with regard to recognizing and promoting the compatibility of, interconnections between and interdependence of local culture and universal human rights. She also 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 A/75/298, paras. 38–40. Bruno Simma et al, eds., The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary, 2012, p. 1, 609. A/74/161, para. 74. See, e.g., the assertion by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that States have obligations both within and outside their territories to ensure the full implementation of the Convention, including in the areas of disaster risk reduction and climate change mitigation and adaptation (CEDAW/C/GC/37, para. 43). See also A/HRC/44/28. See, e.g., Human Rights Council resolutions 41/21 and 44/7. A/73/227, para. 45. UNESCO, UNESCO World Report: Investing in Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue (Paris, 2009), p. 225. 15