The first report of the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights Alexandra Xanthaki, addressed to the UN General Assembly, emphasizes the role of culture in sustainable development, including the cultures of development. Aligned with the calls of the #Culture2030Goal campaign, “Report on Cultural Rights and Sustainable Development” aims to assess how cultural diversity and cultural rights have been mainstreamed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Stating that cultural rights are indispensable to sustainable development, apart from exposing the context, the UN Special Rapporteur also reveals challenges and violations of cultural rights in the development framework, such as:
- Land-grabbing, displacement, and cultural heritage appropriation and destruction
- Tensions Between Cultural Rights and Nature Conservation
- The Requirements Of Consultation and Participation
- Gentrification and Cultural Rights
Concluding that cultural rights are at the core of sustainable development processes and should be recognized in that capacity, the report proposes recommendations that might be useful for policy-makers, researchers, and cultural actors.
