A/78/213
Report of the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural
rights, Alexandra Xanthaki
Summary
This is the second of two consecutive reports to the General Assembly presented
by the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Alexandra Xanthaki,
addressing cultural rights in development frameworks. The Special Rapporteur
emphasizes that international development and trade organizations are currently
failing to respect cultural rights. The reasons she analyses include the rejection by
some organizations of their responsibility to respect cultural rights, the lack of
understanding of their scope and their linkage with the work of the organizations, and
the predominance given to economic development or other interests. Although the
Special Rapporteur acknowledges some progress, full implementation of these rights
is still lacking. All entities need to work in a comprehensive and inclusive manner to
ensure that cultural rights are not violated in development and trade frameworks, and
that clear processes advance cultural rights in development, mitigate and prevent their
violations, and guarantee effective participation and consultation according to
international standards. States have an important role to play in ensuring that the
organizations of which they are members endorse cultural development and respect
cultural rights in all aspects of their work, so that truly no one is left behind.
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