A/HRC/55/44/Add.1 83. More importantly, the recent returns seem to have provided the Government, museum authorities and other relevant stakeholders with an opportunity to establish new ways of collaborating with communities that suffered from the loss of their artefacts. The country’s colonial past and the consequences in the present, including structural racism, and the responsibility of Germany for the export of other artefacts, are important issues that would benefit from further debate. The Special Rapporteur looks forward to learning about the continued efforts to address historical injustices and discrimination in the future, and the various approaches that may be developed. 2. Memorialization initiatives 84. The Special Rapporteur focused on the memorialization practices and historical narratives regarding past and recent migrations in Germany. She was eager to hear about the possibilities and spaces given to migrants for participating in shaping the common history and understanding of the country. 85. She visited the Documentation Centre and Museum of Migration and was impressed by its human-centred and inclusive approach, focusing on the value of each individual migration story as a resource for persons with migration backgrounds for developing both a sense of self and of belonging to Germany. Through its methodology, the Centre and Museum contributes to changing the perception of migration from an exceptional disruption to a social constant, normalizing mobility across various forms of borders as part of an ever-changing society. It is also an excellent example of a bottom-up, cultural-rights-compatible approach to memory- and heritage-building. The Special Rapporteur was glad to hear of its upcoming expansion into a larger museum, as well as of the discussions regarding the creation of a migration museum in Berlin, focused on “guestworkers”, with a similar participatory approach to various migrant communities. She hopes to learn more about the museums in the near future. 86. Other cultural institutions, such as music and theatre companies, should consider how the experience of these museums and the recommendations of the German Museum Association on museums, migration and cultural diversity16 could inspire more work on these topics in their respective fields. 87. In the field of heritage, interesting work is being done on multidirectional memory, and the interactions between various groups contributing to heritage-making. The Special Rapporteur visited Oranianplatz, where multiple heritage communities wish to create a permanent inscription memorializing their connection with this place. She talked with a representative of the Dersim Kurd community about their project for a monument, and heard about the monument planned to “guestworkers”. This public space has also been associated for 10 years with the O-Platz Movement, fighting against discrimination and for the rights of refugees. The Special Rapporteur encourages all stakeholders to see multiple memorializations such as these as composite parts of a shared local history rather than competing and mutually exclusive requests. IV. Conclusions and recommendations A. Conclusions 88. Germany has made significant progress in recognizing its difficult past and the changes in its society, and in building a sophisticated legal and policy framework to uphold its international human rights and humanitarian law commitments. 89. There needs to be better understanding and coordination of cultural rights within the multi-layered administration of Germany, and clearer leadership from the Federal Government in ensuring the full implementation of those rights. International standards should be considered in national discussions regarding cultural matters and 16 GE.24-01816 Network of European Museum Organisations, “Museums, migration and cultural diversity: recommendations for museum work” (Berlin, 2016). 17