A/78/213 protection of the cultural rights of individuals, local communities or Indigenous Peoples. This represents a departure from the way cultural rights and cultural diversity are conceptualized under international human rights law, and as such, from the emerging attention of international organizations on sustainable development. F. International Monetary Fund 33. Contrary to the previous organizations mentioned, in the case of th e IMF, one struggles to find any attempt to address cultural rights even indirectly, quietly or partially. IMF currently has 190 member countries and IMF membership is a prerequisite for membership in the World Bank. 29 Pursuant to its Articles of Agreement, the stated purpose of IMF is to promote international monetary cooperation, facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade, promote exchange stability and maintain orderly exchange arrangements among members, among other functions. 30 It plays a crucial role in the global economy by promoting economic stability, providing financial assistance, offering technical expertise and fostering international cooperation. 34. While originally positioned as strictly a monetary agency, the focus of IMF has gradually migrated to development concerns and objectives, and in 2019 its work on social policy was strengthened. 31 The activities of IMF are significantly related to human rights, including cultural rights. The former Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Phillip Alston, remarked that IMF was the “single most influential international actor not only in relation to fiscal policy, but also to social protection” (A/HRC/38/33, para. 55). IMF refutes the link between its policies and human rights, let alone cultural rights. 32 This is despite its position as a specialized, independent agency of the United Nations, and the voices that stress that it must adhere to the Charter of the United Nations and is otherwise bound by international law. 33 35. Cultural rights are highly relevant to the macroeconomic functions of IMF, and its lending can have indirect implications for cultural rights. For instance, State austerity measures required as a condition of IMF financing in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis have been described as having “profound and long -lasting adverse effects on human rights”. 34 The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has been clear in highlighting the adverse effects that austerity often has on the rights to work, food, housing and social protection, among others. 35 Austerity measures have not only violated economic and social rights, but also cultural rights, including through funding cuts to cultural institutions, infrastructure and programming. 36 __________________ 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 23-14310 See www.worldbank.org/en/about/history/the-world-bank-group-and-the-imf (accessed 16 June 2023). International Monetary Fund (IMF), Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund (1944), available at www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/aa/index.htm (accessed 16 June 2023). IMF, “A Strategy for IMF Engagement on Social Spending”, Policy Paper (2019). Viljam Engström, “Social protection in the mandate of the IMF”, International Journal of Human Rights (2022), pp. 1–21. Daniel D. Bradlow, “The World Bank, the IMF, and human rights”, Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems, vol. 6, no. 47 (1996), p. 63. Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky and Francisco Cantamutto, “Not even with a pandemic: The IMF, human rights, and rational choices under power relations”, Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 44, no. 4 (2022), pp. 759 and 760. See E/C.12/2016/1. See Bethany Rex and Peter Campbell. “The impact of austerity measures on local government funding for culture in England”, Cultural Trends, 31 (3) (2022), pp. 1–24. 11/24