Second Conference of Parties to the UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions: a first set of operational guidelines, a new set of implementation priorities, but silence on a major issue

States attending the Second Conference of the Parties to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in Paris June 15 and 16, 2009 approved a first set of operational guidelines for the Convention, elected 12 new members to the Convention’s Intergovernmental Committee and set priorities for the next two years of implementation. However, these priorities did not include development of operational guidelines for Articles 20 and 21, which address the relationship of the Convention to other international instruments, an issue fundamental to how the Convention will effectively serve to uphold the right of States to apply cultural policies. The question of whether operational guidelines for these key articles of the Convention will ultimately be developed was deferred to a future conference. 

States Parties attending the Conference quickly approved the entire package of proposed operational guidelines developed by the Intergovernmental Committee in the first phase of implementation work—pursued over the course of four meetings of the Committee between December 2007 and March 2009 supported by UNESCO’s Convention Secretariat throughout.

The first set of guidelines focused on the following themes: measures to promote and protect cultural expressions (Articles 7, 8 and 17); partnerships between the public and private sectors and non-profit organizations (Article 15); the role and participation of civil society (Article 11); the integration of culture in sustainable development (Article 13); cooperation for development (Article 14) and use of the resources of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (Article 18); and finally preferential treatment for developing countries (Article 16). 

The Parties then established the mandate of the Intergovernmental Committee for the next two years of implementation of the Convention. Once again, the decision-making process was brief and three articles were unanimously selected, namely:

- Article 9 "Information Sharing and Transparency";

- Article 19 "Exchange, Analysis and Dissemination of Information" dealing with the exchange of information and expertise between the States Parties to the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions

- Article 10 "Education and Public Awareness" which commits States to cooperate to raise public awareness with respect to the importance of the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions.

In addition, to bring greater visibility of the Convention, the Parties asked the Intergovernmental Committee to examine the feasibility of recruiting high-profile artists. As well, the Committee has been mandated to develop a fundraising strategy and to reflect on innovative financial mechanisms for the International Fund for Cultural Diversity.

Originally scheduled to take place over four days, the Conference progressed with striking speed, and concluded after just two days because States rapidly approved the proposed package of operational guidelines and were equally quick to find consensus on priorities for the next two years.

In so doing, States held no discussion regarding Articles 20 and 21, an issue fundamental to how the Convention will effectively serve to uphold the right of States to apply cultural policies.

The Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie was the only intergovernmental organization to emphasize the importance of having the Intergovernmental Committee develop operational guidelines on Articles 20 and 21 which lie "[TRANSLATION] at the heart of the rationale for the Convention". The International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity intervened in support of this position. But the decision of the States was a fait accompli by the time these interventions were made.

The question of the ultimate reach of the Convention, and specifically of Articles 20 and 21, was touched on in statements made by South Africa and Quebec’s representative in the Canadian delegation. These statements were made during the Conference’s closing session—after the priorities for 2009-11 implementation had been established. In the next issue of Coalition Currents, we will address the potential impact of the decision not to develop operational guidelines for Articles 20 and 21 over the next two years.

The last major item of business for the Conference on its second day consisted of electing 12 new members to the 24-member Intergovernmental Committee, succeeding the 12 Committee members that had been elected to two-year terms at the first Conference in June of 2007. Divided into regional groups, the Conference of the Parties elected for Group I: Canada and France, for Group II: Albania and Bulgaria, for Group III: Cuba and Brazil, for Group IV: China and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, for Group V (a): Cameroon and Kenya, for Group V (b): Jordan and Tunisia. The new make-up of the Intergovernmental Committee can be found on UNESCO’s website for the Convention: http://www.unesco.org/culture/culturaldiversity/LIST_MEMBERS_IGC.pdf.

Civil society organizations were accorded an opportunity to address the Conference on the closing day. The President of the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD), Rasmané Ouedraogo, spoke on behalf of the IFCCD (only available in French), the International Network on Cultural Diversity, Traditions for Tomorrow, the International Music Council, the International Theatre Institute and of the European Union of Public Broadcasters (EBU). Mr. Ouedraogo expressed particular satisfaction with the approval of the guidelines for Article 11, which set out an operational framework for engaging civil society in the Convention implementation process, and for Article 18, which the International Fund for Cultural Diversity can now be made operational. Regarding the work to be pursued over the next two years, Mr. Ouedraogo stressed the importance of working to ensure the Convention achieves its full potential, including promotion of its principles and objectives in other international forums. With this particular objective in mind, he noted that that Article 23 6 (e) of the Convention empowers the Intergovernmental Committee pursue this work, and offered the support of civil society organizations. 

To consult the complete issue of Coalition Currents Vol. 7 No. 2 click here.