A/HRC/40/53 creative activity” (article 15 (3)) and “recognize the benefits to be derived from… international contacts and co-operation in the scientific and cultural fields” (article 15 (4)). 21. The mandate has also clarified the relationship between cultural rights and other human rights, thereby strengthening the indivisibility and interdependence of the whole human rights system and demonstrating the position of cultural rights at the intersection of civil and political rights and economic and social rights. Cultural rights are transformative and empowering, providing important opportunities for the realization of other human rights. A lack of equal cultural rights, combined with economic and social inequalities, make it difficult for people to exercise their civil and political rights and to enjoy their right to development. 22. In her 2012 thematic report dedicated to the cultural rights of women (A/67/287) the Special Rapporteur emphasized the empowering aspect of cultural rights. Ensuring that women can exercise their cultural rights in full equality, including the right to determine which traditions and cultural practices need to be preserved, modified or discarded, contributes to women’s enjoyment of all other human rights. That approach highlights the cultural dimensions of the principle of equality and non-discrimination. It also opens the door to a paradigm shift from viewing culture as primarily negative for women (although it has sometimes been misused in this manner) to emphasizing the need for women’s equal cultural rights. It can also be helpful in other areas, such as the cultural rights of elderly or disabled persons. 23. In her 2013 report on the right to freedom of artistic expression, the Special Rapporteur developed the understanding of the cultural and artistic components of freedom of expression (A/HRC/23/34). She stressed the need to consider article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights when interpreting article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and vice versa, calling for a holistic approach, a suggestion that still needs implementation in the field. In the report, she addressed the laws and regulations restricting artistic freedom and the economic issues which have a significant impact on such freedom. She also stressed that States have positive obligations towards freedom of thought, opinion and expression, and called on them to take affirmative measures in support of the right of people to enjoy the arts and artistic freedom. 24. In her 2012 report concerning the right to benefit from scientific progress and its applications, the Special Rapporteur demonstrated the strong connections between that right and the effective realization of many other rights, including the rights to life, health, food, housing, water and sanitation, privacy, self-determination and freedom of thought, as well as specific issues related to the rights of women, migrants, internally displaced persons and indigenous peoples in each of those areas (A/HRC/20/26). The language in the report helped a number of stakeholders who responded to the questionnaire better integrate a human rights approach into their work and challenge laws and practices that impede persons from marginalized groups from accessing critical information and the benefits of scientific applications.8 25. In a report in 2013 on the writing and teaching of history, with a particular focus on history textbooks, the mandate significantly increased international awareness of the importance of historical narratives as forms of cultural heritage and critical resources for collective identity (A/68/296). In her report, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the way in which people continuously strive to retrieve, validate, make known and have acknowledged by others their own history, and at the same time contest certain interpretations. That process can have important impacts on the sustainability of peace and the report sheds light on the relationship between the histories that are recounted – or not – and the rights to freedom of thought and opinion and to education, as defined in article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Provided that historical narratives rigorously follow the highest deontological standards, they should be included in the debate. Citing regional standards, the Special Rapporteur noted that history teaching should not be an instrument of 8 6 Treatment Action Group submission, paras. 5 and 19–26.