A/HRC/RES/58/4
Acknowledging the importance of early restoration of the full enjoyment of cultural
rights to individuals affected by conflict, and in particular to those who are displaced,
Emphasizing the important role that the Human Rights Council can play, in concert
with all other relevant international actors, in global efforts to protect, restore and preserve
cultural heritage with a view to promoting universal respect for cultural rights by all,
Recognizing the important contribution that United Nations peacekeeping missions
can make to the protection of cultural heritage and the safeguarding of the enjoyment of
cultural rights, both during and in the aftermath of armed conflicts,
Acknowledging the important role of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International
Criminal Police Organization and the World Customs Organization in international efforts to
combat and prevent damage or destruction, organized looting, smuggling and theft of and
illicit trafficking in cultural property, and to restore damaged property,
Welcoming all initiatives, whether by States, institutions or private persons, for the
access and/or repatriation of ceremonial objects and human remains of Indigenous Peoples,
and the voluntary return of cultural property that has been illicitly appropriated,
Recognizing that technology, and in particular the Internet, may enhance cultural
creation, dissemination and participation by enabling new forms of curating and sharing, and
engaging with, cultural heritage, and recognizing also the growing importance of the digital
environment in the diffusion of cultural and creative content, an approach followed by the
Virtual Museum on Cultural Heritage, among others,
Recognizing also the need for specific strategies to preserve digital heritage and to
ensure meaningful access, including by addressing all digital divides, which remain a
significant barrier, particularly for persons in vulnerable situations who often lack access to
digital resources and technologies and whose heritage may be excluded from digitalization
efforts,
Noting that digital technologies present significant opportunities to preserve,
document and share cultural heritage, and offer innovative ways to celebrate cultural
diversity and engage rights holders in heritage efforts,
Noting also that digital content frequently remains inaccessible to persons with
disabilities, particularly to those with vision, hearing, motor or cognitive impairments, and
that this inaccessibility extends to a great deal of digital heritage,
Recalling the relevant principles of the Global Digital Compact, adopted by the
General Assembly in its resolution 79/1, including the principles that cooperation will
harness digital technologies to advance all human rights, and that this cooperation will
promote digital accessibility for all and support linguistic and cultural diversity in the digital
space,
Taking note with appreciation of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights on the intersessional workshop on cultural rights and the protection of
cultural heritage,1 which contains a compilation of recommendations on the implementation
of the human rights framework and the development of tools for the dissemination of a human
rights-based approach to the protection, restoration and preservation of cultural heritage, by
focusing on mainstreaming a human rights-based approach to cultural heritage, including
tools, on cultural heritage in crisis and on supporting the work of cultural rights defenders
working on cultural heritage protection,
Welcoming the work of the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, and
taking note of the mandate holder’s most recent report, entitled “Digitalization of cultural
heritage: preserving cultural rights”,2 in which she discusses the importance of adopting a
cultural rights approach to the digitalization of cultural heritage in order to overcome
weaknesses that have not been addressed,
1
2
A/HRC/58/35.
A/HRC/58/60.
3