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Feature stories


Minority rights and the power of art and protest amidst the pandemic
Minority rights and the power of art and protest amidst the pandemic
Minorities have been disproportionately negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and art and protest have been seminal to their fight for human rights. However, at the same time, their artistic freedom and cultural rights have been placed at severe risk.
9 March 2021
UN expert: arts and culture help create and maintain stable, peaceful societies
UN expert: arts and culture help create and maintain stable, peaceful societies
“Cultural and artistic expressions have a strong transformative power and can influences the societies we live in,” said Karima Bennoune, UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights.
30 October 2018
Universality, cultural diversity and cultural rights
Universality, cultural diversity and cultural rights
The universality of human rights must be protected from those seeking to use culture as a weapon against others, and cultural rights and cultural diversity defended in accordance with international standards when those principles come under attack says UN expert, Karima Bennoune.
24 October 2018
Copyright should not infringe on cultural rights
Copyright should not infringe on cultural rights
Copyrights are not normally associated with human rights, but these laws can have a profound effect on the lives of communities if not properly managed, says UN Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights Farida Shaheed.
1 April 2015
Protecting cultural rights from excessive advertising
Protecting cultural rights from excessive advertising
States should protect people from undue levels of commercial advertising and marketing while increasing the space for not-for-profit expressions, the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights says. Farida Shaheed made this recommendation in a presentation of a report at the UN General Assembly in New York.
17 December 2014
Out of many perspectives comes one history
Out of many perspectives comes one history
History and memorials are not the spoils of the victor. In a panel discussion held during the 27th Human Rights Council, Human Rights special rapporteurs discussed with guests and Member States the best way to ensure that history teaching and memorialization processes are being used as a way of fostering mutual understanding between communities so as not to repeat past wrongs.
23 September 2014
Integrating cultural rights in transitional justice strategies in post-conflict societies
Integrating cultural rights in transitional justice strategies in post-conflict societies
The latest report to the Human Rights Council of the Rapporteur on cultural rights addresses memorialization processes in post-conflict societies and the importance of culture in transitional justice.
25 March 2014
Post-conflict societies: learning history from different points of view
Post-conflict societies: learning history from different points of view
In a report presented during the United Nations General Assembly’s 68th session in New York, Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights Farida Shaheed said the writing and teaching of history in divided and post-conflict areas should serve the purpose of fostering critical thinking.
28 October 2013
Women’s cultural rights: empowering and transformative
Women’s cultural rights: empowering and transformative
Farida Shaheed, UN expert in the field of cultural rights, proposes to shift the paradigm from one that views culture merely as an obstacle to women’s rights to one that seeks to ensure women’s equal enjoyment of cultural rights.
8 November 2012
The destruction of cultural and religious sites: a violation of human rights
The destruction of cultural and religious sites: a violation of human rights
Destruction of cultural and religious sites constitutes a violation of human rights.
24 September 2012
Independent Expert: Cultural Rights enrich universal human rights
Independent Expert: Cultural Rights enrich universal human rights
Independent Expert in the field of cultural rights Farida Shaheed outlines the challenges of this new mandate in her first report to the Human Rights Council.
14 June 2010
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Cultural mixing and cultural rights (2021)

Impact of the COVID-19 on cultural rights (2021)

Climate change, culture and cultural rights (2020)

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Summary of issues in focus

Mapping cultural rights: nature, issues and challenges

Universality and diversity

Cultural rights of women

Cultural heritage

Benefit from scientific progress

Intellectual property regimes

Artistic freedom

History and memory

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Fundamentalism and extremism

Cultural rights defenders

Cultural rights in global crises

Contact Information

Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Telephone: +41 22 917 96 30
Fax: +41 22 917 90 06
E-mail: ohchr-srculturalrights@un.org

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