The theme selected for the third Dialogue, held in Geneva in April 2023, was cultural rights, with a particular focus on the post-MONDIACULT period. Cultural rights protect the rights of every person, individually and in community with others, as well as groups of people, to develop and express their humanity, their worldview, and the meaning they give to their existence and development through, among others, values, beliefs, convictions, languages, knowledge and the arts, institutions and ways of life. Cultural rights also protect access to the heritage and resources that allow these processes of identification and development to take place.

While cultural rights are an essential component of human rights — as underlined in particular by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights — new challenges arise regarding their effective implementation, notably in relation to the impact of digital transformation, the acceleration of migration, and the increase in protracted conflicts.

This calls for stronger political investment at global and national levels to foster an environment conducive to the respect and exercise of cultural rights for all.

In this context, the Declaration of the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development — MONDIACULT 2022, endorsed in September 2022 by 150 ministers of culture, represents a major step forward. This Declaration reflects the unquestioned aspiration of the international community, as well as its renewed commitment to encouraging conceptual reflection and strengthening national and international policy frameworks with a view to improving the implementation of cultural rights across the different components of the cultural sector.

At the same time, the protection and promotion of cultural rights also constitute an essential pillar for positioning culture as a global public good — a commitment enshrined in the MONDIACULT Declaration — and a fundamental dimension of any development that aims to be sustainable.

1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Dialogue addressed themes such as ensuring the foundations of cultural rights through inclusive access and participation; the protection of artists and practitioners, as well as their rights and freedoms; the protection of cultural diversity; linguistic diversity and the right to cultural identity in public policies; and the strengthening of the rights of peoples and communities to identity and cultural heritage, including the restitution of cultural property.

Within UNESCO, these issues are led by the Culture Sector, while remaining of cross-cutting relevance to the sectors of science, communication and information, and education. The Dialogue highlighted these links and the importance of an intersectoral approach within UNESCO.

The event brought together representatives of the United Nations, NGOs, Special Rapporteurs, diplomats, and academics in an open discussion structured over one and a half days.