A/HRC/31/59 I. Introduction 1. In 2009, the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 10/23, established the mandate of the independent expert in the field of cultural rights. The mandate was extended in 2012 through resolution 19/6 in which the Council conferred on the mandate holder the status of Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights. The mandate was again extended in 2015 for a period of three years through resolution 28/9. On 2 October 2015, Karima Bennoune was appointed to fill this post following the completion of the second term of Farida Shaheed. 2. The present report, which is introductory, reflects on the valuable work undertaken from 2009 to 2015 by the previous mandate holder and begins the process of building on that foundation. It highlights priority areas in which the Special Rapporteur believes further advances should be made. II. Cultural rights: revisiting and reconfirming the conceptual and legal framework 3. In her first report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/14/36), Ms. Shaheed thoroughly mapped the conceptual and legal framework that grounds cultural rights. As the mandate has evolved considerably since then, the new Special Rapporteur would like to revisit this framework, reiterating key commitments and assessing emerging developments. 4. In 2010, the first Special Rapporteur noted that cultural rights have frequently been seen as underdeveloped relative to other human rights. Since then, she undertook many activities designed to improve the status of cultural rights, in keeping with the Council’s repeated reaffirmations that “cultural rights are an integral part of human rights, which are universal, indivisible, interrelated and interdependent.” 5. Today, it is fair to say that cultural rights have gained in legitimacy, although there remains much to be done to fulfil the Council’s vision. Many people still think of cultural rights as a luxury. The Special Rapporteur hopes to continue demonstrating that cultural rights are key to the overall implementation of universal human rights and a crucial part of the responses to many current challenges, from conflict and post-conflict situations to discrimination and poverty. Cultural rights are transformative and empowering, providing important opportunities for the realization of other human rights. The lack of equal cultural rights, combined with economic and social inequalities, makes it difficult for people to enjoy personal autonomy, to exercise their civil and political rights and to enjoy their right to development. 6. The present section highlights the important advances made by the previous Special Rapporteur through a series of 10 thematic reports that explored the content of article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Special Rapporteur stresses the importance and richness of these reports, many findings of which she intends to rely on and explore further where relevant. Each report indicates further areas of study and many more issues remain to be addressed. In the sections below, the Special Rapporteur wishes to emphasize the definition of cultural rights proposed by her predecessor, to outline the legal basis for these rights and to describe their relationship with cultural diversity and the universality of human rights. She also addresses key methodological questions and identifies, on a preliminary basis, areas requiring further attention. 3