Member States explore the implementation of cultural rights at a seminar organised by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 1-2 February 2010.

The OHCHR recently held a seminar at the Palais des Nations in Geneva focusing on the various parameters, issues, and challenges related to implementing cultural rights. The seminar was held in partnership with the International Organization of La Francophonie and UNESCO, and in collaboration with the Observatory of diversity and cultural rights.

With the mandate of the Independent Expert in the field of cultural rights having been established in March 2009 in Human Rights Council resolution 10/23, this seminar has been designed to provide valuable insights that will help the Independent Expert in fulfilling her mandate and in identifying how best to implement cultural rights, while ensuring the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights.

In opening the seminar the main considerations of the seminar were highlighted: shaping the scope of cultural rights within the international human rights system and identifying the obstacles and best practices for the implementation of these rights.

The seminar was held over three half-day sessions with discussions in each session centred around the nature and scope of cultural rights within the human rights system; the relationship between cultural rights and cultural diversity; and cultural rights, development and participation.

For more information and documentation is available on the OHCHR website.

Following each presentation and report, there was an encouraging amount of dialogue and debate between representatives from different cultures, between institutional members and observers as well as with the representatives and experts presenting their findings. Some interesting questions raised were regarding the universality of cultural rights, as well as the interface between women, family, communities and participation in cultural life.

Recommendations called for more attention to be paid to the prevention of social exclusion, for the need to reach a compromise in the recognition of cultural rights across differing cultures and that a strong dialog between different cultures is required. The issues of the participation and unintentional exclusion of individuals and communities in cultural development was one of the major concerns expressed during the session.

See the OHCHR website for more on their "Implementing cultural rights. Nature, issues at stake and challenges" seminar.