UN expert on cultural rights to visit Germany

GENEVA (28 November 2022) – The UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Alexandra Xanthaki, will make an official visit to Germany from today, 28 November, to 9 December.

Xanthaki will examine the right of all to participate in the cultural life of their choice and to freely express a diversity of world visions, values and ways of life. In particular, she will focus on opportunities and challenges face by LGBT+ persons, as well as those with a migration background, including asylum-seekers and refugees, to fully contribute to cultural life.

“My visit aims to learn about and evaluate the policies and measures taken by the German authorities to respect and protect the expression of diversity and encourage inclusion and hospitality,” the expert said. “This also includes looking into what is said about past migrations and the narrative that is told about what persons of different origins have contributed to what the country is today.”

The Special Rapporteur will meet with officials from governmental institutions at the federal, state and local level, the German Institute for Human Rights, civil society, academics and cultural professionals. Her visit will include Berlin, Cologne and Leipzig.

The expert will present her preliminary findings and recommendations at a news conference on Friday 9 December at 12:30 am at the Maritim ProArte Hotel, Berlin. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

The final report on the Special Rapporteur’s visit will be presented to the Human Rights Council in March 2024.

ENDS

Ms. Alexandra Xanthaki (Greece) was appointed by the Human Rights Council as UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights in October 2021. Ms. Xanthaki works as a Professor of Laws at Brunel University London, United Kingdom. Throughout her academic career, Ms. Xanthaki has published over 50 publications relating to the cultural rights of minorities and indigenous peoples, cultural diversity, cultural heritage, balancing cultural rights with other rights and interests, and multiculturalism and integration in international human rights law. She has worked with NGOs, civil society and has consulted States on such issues.

Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, Country Page: Germany