A/HRC/49/54 religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms (part I, sect. 5). This entails, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (art. 4) and reiterated in Human Rights Council resolution 10/23, that no one may invoke cultural diversity to infringe upon human rights guaranteed by international law or to limit their scope. Members of various cultural groups are the ones to decide in the first instance which practices actually do violate human rights, on the sustainability of their cultural practices and their coherence with current human rights. Through their interactions with other cultures and their continuous re-evaluation of new circumstances, needs and ideas, members of groups contribute to defining and shifting the contours of “cultures”. Cultures are not monolithic and must be encouraged to evolve in an organic way. 27. In order for cultural rights to flourish, States need to take measures to ensure (a) a healthy civil society that is not afraid to question and revisit practices and interact with various groups, (b) dialogue that recognizes the value of cultural diversity, (c) the protection of other human rights that allow individuals to challenge and reject their own cultural references and adopt other elements if they so wish, and (d) the realization of socioeconomic rights and the guarantee of protection mechanisms that make such ongoing processes real and possible. 28. In celebrating the deeply positive impact of intangible culture, the Special Rapporteur is under no illusion about the possible conflicts between cultural rights and other rights. However, such conflict should not be inflated or used as an excuse to restrict human rights unnecessarily. The Special Rapporteur is satisfied that international law has provided guidance on how to balance conflicting rights, as will be discussed in section V of the present report. C. Protecting cultural rights relating to the natural environment 29. The Special Rapporteur is fully committed to further unpacking the relationship between natural diversity, the environment and cultural rights. Identities and cultural realities are also built through the way individuals and communities interact with nature and their environment. 30. In the past, the mandate holders considered the relationship between cultural rights and the environment, both natural and built, mainly in the reports dedicated to public spaces and advertising.24 The right to take part in cultural life and to pursue specific ways of life requires spaces. The mandate holder considered that public spaces were spheres for deliberation, cultural exchange, social cohesion and diversity, 25 and that a human rights framework should be applied to the design, development and maintenance of public spaces. Authorities at all levels therefore have obligations to guarantee the collective and participatory character of public spaces of an urban, rural, natural or digital nature. 26 31. Specific challenges that have been analysed also include the growing commercialization and privatization of public spaces. The overwhelming presence in the environment of advertising aimed at selling tends to shape and limit how individuals think, feel and act, and to reduce cultural diversity and the capacities of each person and group to choose and aspire to something other than a lifestyle based on intense consumption that is detrimental to human societies and the environment. Recommendations on advertisementfree schools issued under the mandate in 2014 27 were taken up by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with the aim of developing guidelines for public authorities on how to protect the rights of the child from the adverse impacts of marketing in schools. Also, in her report on climate change, 28 the previous mandate holder highlighted how the disappearance of the built and natural environments of certain populations, and of the traces 24 25 26 27 28 8 See A/74/255 and A/69/286. A/69/286, para. 76. A/74/255, para. 84. A/69/286, paras. 46–48. See A/75/298.