Consultation on Cultural rights and public spaces

In her 2019 thematic report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur will consider how actors from across the cultural ecosystem access and use public spaces, identify the challenges they face and the strategies they develop to overcome them, and analyse the impact this has on their cultural rights.

The Special Rapporteur will address multifaceted issues at stake, such as impediments in public spaces to cultural expression, the organization of cultural events, the conduct of cultural practices and the use of languages. She will consider the presence or absence of cultural narratives in public spaces, for example in the form of symbols, memorials, architecture or advertising.

Please note that the term "public spaces" in its plural form aims at underlining the plurality and diversity of "public spaces" and their differences in nature and scope. Public spaces may include, for example, not only urban but also rural and natural spaces, real and virtual spaces. Various degrees of privatization may affect public spaces. This may require different measures be adopted to ensure the realization of cultural rights.

The Special Rapporteur invites all concerned stakeholders, including States, United Nations agencies, academics, experts, artists, scientists, cultural workers and practitioners, as well as civil society organizations, to answer to a questionnaire, in order to benefit from their diverse views and experiences.

Letter: English | Français | Español |

Questionnaire: English | Français | Español |

Note Verbale: English | Français | Español |

The Special Rapporteur thanks all those who have submitted information in response to the call for submission.

Responses from States

1. Azerbaijan
2. Colombia
3. Ecuador
4. El Salvador Note | Responses
5. Guatemala Note | Responses
6. Iraq
7. Italy
8. Mali
9. Mauritius
10. Mexico Note | Responses
11. Norway Ministry of Culture | Media authority
12. Pakistan Note | Responses
13. Qatar
14. Senegal Note | Responses
15. Togo
16. Ukraine Note | Responses
17. Venezuela

Responses from NHRIs

1. Argentina
2. India
3. Mexico Note | Responses
4. Russia

Responses from cities or local governments

1. Diputacio de Barcelona, Spain
2. Distrito Federal y Brasilia, Brazil
3. City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
4. Unidad Temática de Culturas de Mercociudades (La Paz, Sao Paulo, Santo André y Montevideo)
5. Nouakchott, Mauritania
6. Conseil départemental de la Seine Saint Denis, France
7. Municipio de San Salvador
8. Terrassa City Council, Spain

Responses from other stakeholders

1. Aleyna Günay
2. Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)
3. Association nationale de promotion et de protection des droits de l'homme, Cameroun
4. Beatriz Barreiro Carril Responses | annex 1 | 2
5. CADAL Argentina 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
6. Centinelas del Patrimonio
7. Collectif des Experts et Entrepreneurs Culturels, Cameroun
8. Dirigente de mi comunidad, Dominican Republic
9. Dublin City Council Culture Company Strategy
10. Emek Shaveh, Israel
11. Equal Ground, Sri Lanka
12. Escuela de gente, Brazil
13. European Association of Archeologists
14. Fédération des arts de la rue Note | Manifeste
15. Førde Traditional and World Music Festival
16. Freemuse
17. Global Platform for the Right to the City / Habitat International Coalition
18. IANGEL
19. ICOMOS
20. In Situ, European network for artistic creation in public space
21. International Commission of Jurists
22. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
23. Kayan Feminist Organization
24. Les oiseaux de passage / Hôtel du Nord
25. Racines
26. Ramde Harouna
27. RASHID
28. Sandra Gutierrez Poizat
29. Soufia Bham & Jason Lily
30. Sumaira Malik
31. Suwarut Chutiwongpeti
32. Temba Middelmann
33. UNESCO
34. United cities and Local Governments, UCLG, Culture Commission

Other contributions

The Special Rapporteur also thanks all those who have contributed to the consultation in their expert capacities, providing advice and examples on specific themes and parts of the draft report, in particular Georgios Artopoulos, Christelle Blouët, Laurence Cuny, Silvio Ferrari, Marco Kusumawijaya, Laetitia Lafforgue, Janett Jimenez Santos, David McGillivray, Tove Malloy, Magdalena Moreno Mujica, Svetlana Mintcheva, Jordi Pascual, Ole Reitov, Andreas Wiesand, Marcus Zepf and Ana Zuvela.