Cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage

On 6 October 2016, the Human Rights Council adopted unanimously a resolution calling upon all States to respect, promote and protect the right of everyone to take part in cultural life, including the ability to access and enjoy cultural heritage, and to take relevant actions to achieve this. The resolution also decides that the Human Rights Council will remain seized of this matter (see resolution A/HRC/RES/33/20).

This initiative followed a cross-regional statement made to the Human Rights Council in March 2016 and joint by an unprecedented coalition of 145 States. The statement condemned intentional destruction of cultural heritage and called for identification of best practices for its prevention, and for “raising awareness on the mutually reinforcing relation between the protection of cultural heritage and human rights and on the risks faced by defenders of cultural heritage.” (See the joint statement.)

On 22 March 2018, the Human Rights Council adopted unanimously resolution A/HRC/RES/37/17. This resolution, which will be presented triennially, builds on the conclusions of the one day seminar convened in July 2017 and presented in the High Commissioner’s report A/HRC/37/29 (see the description under “Related activities”) and reiterates the engagement of States to respect, protect and fulfil cultural rights in the field of cultural heritage. The resolution also requests the High Commissioner to convene, before the forty-fourth session of the Human Rights Council, and in collaboration with the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, relevant agencies and other stakeholders, a two-day workshop in Geneva with the participation of experts from all regions of the world to develop appropriate tools for the dissemination of an approach to the protection, restoration and preservation of cultural heritage that promotes universal respect for cultural rights by all, and to present a report thereon at the forty-sixth session of the Human Rights Council.

On 31 March 2022, the Human Rights Council adopted unanimously resolution 49/7 entitled “Cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage” and requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in consultation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights to convene a one-day workshop to review and promote the tools for the dissemination and possible methods of implementation of an approach to the protection, restoration and preservation of cultural heritage that promotes universal respect for cultural rights by all. The workshop was held on 1 December 2023.

Related activities

• First inter-sessional seminar on cultural rights and protection of cultural heritage (7 July 2017)
• Second inter-sessional workshop on cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage (14-15 June 2021)
• Third inter-sessional workshop on cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage (1 December 2023)

Background information

• Reports of the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights
  • A/HRC/17/38 (2011)
  • A/71/317 (2016)
  • A/HRC/37/55 (2018)
  • A/HRC/43/50 (2020)
• General Comment 21 of the Committee on economic, social and cultural rights (E/C.12/GC/21, 2009)

Useful links

• Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights
• Special Rapporteur on minority issues
• Experts mechanisms on the rights of Indigenous peoples
• UNESCO’s Strategy for the Reinforcement of UNESCO’s Action for the Protection of Culture and the Promotion of Cultural Pluralism in the Event of Armed Conflict
• Europa Nostra
• Report of the Advisory Body “Our Common Dignity Initiative” on Rights-based approaches in World Heritage: Taking stock and looking forward
• Case Studies carried out within the ‘Our Common Dignity Initiative 2011-2016: Rights-Based Approaches in World Heritage’
• RASHID International
• The “Cultural Heritage” thematic page
• Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Experts mechanisms on the rights of Indigenous peoples
• UNESCO’s Strategy for the Reinforcement of UNESCO’s Action for the Protection of Culture and the Promotion of Cultural Pluralism in the Event of Armed Conflict
• Council of Europe Convention on Offences relating to Cultural Property - 'Nicosia Convention'