October 30-31, 2025 | Bangkok – UCLG ASPAC highlighted the key role of local and regional governments in promoting cultural rights at the seminar on “Cultural Rights and Their Defenders” on October 30 and 31, 2025, in Bangkok, Thailand. The two-day seminar was organised by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the leading UN entity on human rights, to provide capacity building and consolidate promising practices on the protection of economic, social and cultural rights.
UCLG ASPAC discussed how the Culture Committee, led by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, was established in 2015 to promote culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region. The Committee recently provided a capacity-building programme through the workshop on “Harnessing Heritage Assets for Inclusive Growth and Community Empowerment in the Asia-Pacific Region”. Local government initiatives that were recognised in the International Award UCLG-Mexico City-Culture 21, such as Gwanak-Gu’s Capital of Youth Culture Project, Xi’an’s Culture for All Policies, and Bandung’s Hutan Menyala, were presented. Efforts by Andong and Baguio during the COVID-19 pandemic, which facilitated people’s access to cultural life in times of crisis, were also showcased.
Furthermore, the Declaration of the UCLG Culture Summit 2025 explicitly referred to cultural rights and Culture21 Plus was launched to support this as a global toolkit on cultural rights and sustainability. OHCHR additionally mentioned the collaboration with UCLG to develop the guidance framework for creating a human rights city. OHCHR also invited submissions of practices in economic, social, and cultural rights at their knowledge gateway.
In his message to the Human Rights Council, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres stated that “More people are speaking out about the indispensability of cultural rights for protecting the diversity of beliefs and practices on our planet, recognising these rights as an essential tool for preserving diversity and our common heritage.” Cultural rights defenders are part of human rights defenders who pursue the elimination of cultural rights violations and promote respect, protection, and fulfilment of cultural rights.
