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cultural rights, States are under the obligation to take steps, legal and other, to promote and
protect these rights. The Special Rapporteur is looking forward to working with Member
States – through country visits that will, to the extent possible, fit with the thematic studies
of her mandate, but also through wider dialogue and cooperation – towards improving the
application of cultural rights at the domestic level. To this end, she is open to providing
support and technical expertise relating to legislation and other measures that promote and
protect cultural rights and cultural diversity.
VII. Work methods and next reports
44.
In her attempt to address current significant challenges that are at the juncture between
cultural rights and cultural diversity, and other rights and interests, the Special Rapporteur
will dedicate her next two reports to sustainable development and people on the move.
45.
The Special Rapporteur will consider issues relating to cultural rights and sustainable
development, noting that cultural rights must be at the core of any discussion and activity
relating to sustainable development. The Sustainable Development Goals do not mention
cultural rights explicitly, but nevertheless provide an important programmatic platform in
which the transversal relevance of cultural rights must be analysed and highlighted. As early
as 1987, the Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our
Common Future (the Brundtland Report) rightly noted that, in order to be “sustainable”,
development must meet the needs of the community without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs. States have a clear obligation to adopt all
appropriate measures to protect the environment, the livelihoods and the natural resources of
affected individuals and communities. Cultural rights are integral to protecting the
environment and nature.
46.
It is vital that States and the international community apply a variety of development
models. The Special Rapporteur is looking forward to analysing ways in which financial
models of development will be enriched and even replaced by more human rights-oriented
models of development. The wisdom of traditional knowledge holders and the experiences
of affected communities must be used at all stages of development projects, from inception
to delivery and evaluation. Such communities must not only be consulted; their free, prior
and informed consent must be sought and respected and their leadership in implementing and
evaluating development programmes must be secured. This is the only way to ensure that
individual and collective cultural rights are protected and that no one is left behind.
47.
The Special Rapporteur would like to invite all stakeholders, including States,
international organizations and civil society organizations, to share with her their views on
respect for cultural rights in development, to inform her of good practice in development that
prioritizes cultural rights, to discuss the participation and leadership of marginalized groups
in projects that promote and protect cultural rights in development, and to convey concerns
relating to cultural rights in development processes. She is particularly interested in
collaborating with UNESCO on this issue. She would also like to learn more about
developments within the World Bank and international financial and trade organizations, as
well as transnational corporations that protect cultural rights.
48.
The Special Rapporteur is also looking forward to exploring how the right to
participate in cultural life is implemented in the context of migration. Of particular
importance is how people on the move have access to the prevailing cultures, as well as the
freedom to maintain and exercise their own cultural practices in host States. Migration
policies focus on “integration” as a positive policy that enhances social cohesion. The Special
Rapporteur is looking forward to identifying good practice in the context of integration
models that do not involve assimilationist or patronizing elements. She will focus on the
positive use of cultural rights to improve the rights of migrants and on cultural initiatives by
migrants themselves to improve their rights, including those relating to housing, health and
education.
49.
The Special Rapporteur is particularly interested in hearing from migrants and
relevant civil society organizations about the concerns they have relating to the
implementation of integration measures by States and more generally their cultural rights.
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