About the mandate

On 26 March 2009, the Human Rights Council decided to establish a special procedure entitled “independent expert in the field of cultural rights” under resolution 10/23.

The Human Rights Council decided to confer the mandate the title of Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, and to extend the mandate for three years through resolution 19/6 on 22 March 2012。

This mandate was extended in 2015 for three more years by Human Rights resolution 28/9 on 10 April. It was further extended through resolution 37/12 on 22 March 2018, through resolution 46/9 of 26 March 2021 and through resolution 55/5 of 3 April 2024.

The Special Rapporteur reports annually both to the Human Rights Council, and to the General Assembly.

Under this mandate, the mandate holder is asked to:

• Identify best practices of promoting and protecting cultural rights at local, national, regional and international levels;
• Identify obstacles to the promotion and protection of cultural rights, and submit recommendations to the Council on ways to overcome them;
• Work with States to foster the adoption of measures—at local, national, regional and international levels—to promote and safeguard cultural rights, and make concrete proposals to enhance cooperation at all levels in that regard;
• Collaborate closely with States and other relevant actors like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to study the relationship between cultural rights and cultural diversity, with the aim of further promoting cultural rights;
• Integrate a gender and a disability perspective into this work;
• Coordinate with intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, other special procedures, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and relevant actors, representing the broadest possible range of interests and experiences, including by attending relevant conferences and events.

Learn more about what the Special Rapporteur does in the Leaflet dedicated to the mandate, available in 4 languages
العربية | English | Français | Español

Resolutions of the Human Rights Council

Links

• All UN documents related to cultural rights
• Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Human Rights Committee
• Droits culturels, Portail et réseau social