Cultural rights are human rights that aim to ensure the enjoyment of culture and its components in conditions of equality, human dignity, and non-discrimination[2]. The right to take part in cultural life guarantees the right of everyone to access, participate in, and enjoy culture, cultural heritage, and cultural expressions[1]. The full realization of this right depends on concrete steps for the conservation, development, and diffusion of culture[1]. Cultural rights are related to themes such as language, cultural and artistic production, participation in cultural life, cultural heritage, intellectual property rights, authors’ rights, minorities, and access to culture, among others[2].
Artistic freedom is a fundamental aspect of cultural rights and includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds “in the form of art,” the right “to enjoy the arts” and the creativity of others, as well as obligations from States to “respect the freedom indispensable for…creative activity”[3]. The right to freedom of artistic expression is a right of all persons to freely experience and contribute to artistic expressions and creations, through individual or joint practice, to have access to and enjoy the arts, and to disseminate their expressions and creations[3].
The protection and promotion of culture is a human rights imperative, and a human-centered approach to development based on mutual respect and open dialogue among cultures is key to safeguarding heritage, strengthening creative industries, and encouraging cultural pluralism[1].
Citations:
[1] https://en.unesco.org/human-rights/cultural-life
[2] https://culturalrights.net/en/principal.php?c=1
[3] https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-cultural-rights/artistic-freedom
[4] https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-cultural-rights
[5] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337886267_Cultural_Rights_as_Human_Rights_and_the_Impact_on_the_Expression_of_Arts_Practices
[6] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-all-have-right-participate-cultural-life-our-why-dont-hartigan