E/C.12/GC/21
and artistic life;3 the right of access to and participation in cultural life;4 and the right to take
part on an equal basis with others in cultural life.5 Instruments on civil and political rights,6
on the rights of persons belonging to minorities to enjoy their own culture, to profess and
practise their own religion, and to use their own language, in private and in public,7 and to
participate effectively in cultural life,8 on the rights of indigenous peoples to their cultural
institutions, ancestral lands, natural resources and traditional knowledge,9 and on the right
to development10 also contain important provisions on this subject.
4.
In the present general comment, the Committee addresses specifically the right of
everyone under article 15 paragraph 1 (a), to take part in cultural life, in conjunction with
paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, as they relate to culture, creative activity and the development of
international contacts and cooperation in cultural fields, respectively. The right of everyone
to benefit from the protection of moral and material interests resulting from any scientific,
literary or artistic production of which they are the author, as provided for in article 15,
paragraph 1 (c), was the subject of general comment No. 17 (2005).
5.
The Committee has gained long experience on this subject through its consideration
of reports and dialogue with States parties. In addition, it has twice organized a day of
general discussion, once in 1992 and again in 2008, with representatives of international
organizations and civil society with a view to preparing the present general comment.
II. Normative content of article 15, paragraph 1 (a)
6.
The right to take part in cultural life can be characterized as a freedom. In order for
this right to be ensured, it requires from the State party both abstention (i.e., noninterference with the exercise of cultural practices and with access to cultural goods and
services) and positive action (ensuring preconditions for participation, facilitation and
promotion of cultural life, and access to and preservation of cultural goods).
7.
The decision by a person whether or not to exercise the right to take part in cultural
life individually, or in association with others, is a cultural choice and, as such, should be
recognized, respected and protected on the basis of equality. This is especially important for
all indigenous peoples, who have the right to the full enjoyment, as a collective or as
individuals, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms as recognized in the Charter of
the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human
rights law, as well as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2
Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 31, para. 2.
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of
Their Families, art. 43, para. 1 (g).
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 30, para. 1.
In particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, arts. 17, 18, 19, 21 and 22.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 27.
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic
Minorities, art. 2, paras. 1 and 2. See also Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities (Council of Europe, ETS No. 157), art. 15.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in particular arts. 5, 8, and 10–13 ff.
See also ILO Convention No. 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent
Countries, in particular arts. 2, 5, 7, 8, and 13–15 ff.
Declaration on the Right to Development (General Assembly resolution 41/128), art. 1. In its general
comment No. 4, paragraph 9, the Committee considers that rights cannot be viewed in isolation from
other human rights contained in the two international Covenants and other applicable international
instruments.
GE.09-46922