Annex A

An International Instrument on Cultural Diversity:
An Approach to Scope and Framework

Globalization, through the integration of the global economy, the transnational flow of people and ideas, the increasing reach of trade and investment obligations, the presence of multi-national corporations, and the advances of information technologies, has redefined our cultural reality. While these trends offer important opportunities for the development and sharing of diverse cultural identities, the global exchange of information and ideas is often unequally distributed and can overwhelm smaller or local cultural and linguistic traditions. These changes have created new policy and regulatory uncertainty about how States can achieve their cultural objectives.

Governments need to act in response to this global shift to ensure a sustainable public space for citizens to enjoy a diversity of choice and opinion, reflective of a diversity of cultural expression. Globalization raises the following policy concerns for the national production of cultural products:

• The increasing presence of foreign cultural products in some societies overshadows domestic cultural products, and limits the opportunities for symbolic discourse essential for their own development, and the promotion of cultural diversity.
• The concentration of production and marketing of cultural products in large corporate entities are generating standardization of cultural expression under the influence of basically commercial imperatives.
• New information technologies (ex. the Internet) are creating a disequilibrium in the international cultural space.

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Existing international agreements in the cultural sector do not sufficiently address the policy issues inherent in ensuring cultural diversity. Most instruments are of a declaratory nature only and are unable to balance out the international trading system with its enforceable dispute settlement mechanisms. This undermines the ability of countries and communities to make their own choices about how they want to evolve, while still participating fully in the global environment. Action is needed to ensure the basic right to cultural expression and encouragement of a diversity of cultural expression at the international level.

In Santorini, Ministers identified an International Instrument on Cultural Diversity as a global focal point to promote diversity of cultural expression and identity and endorsed a preliminary series of cultural diversity principles. An International Instrument on Cultural Diversity should be built on overarching core principles that articulate common values of the importance of cultural diversity: human and democratic rights; role of states; freedom of expression; access to culture; international collaboration and partnership. From that foundation, an International Instrument on Cultural Diversity should:

• Ensure that cultural diversity is preserved and promoted in the face of the challenges and opportunities posed by globalization and technological change.
• Reinforce the legitimate role of governments to support, promote and safeguard cultural diversity as a key public interest objective.
• Articulate the close and important relationship of cultural diversity to social and economic development, including the special role that cultural goods and services play in our societies.

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Priority cultural policy issues that should be supported as the basis or parameters for action in responding to the challenges posed by globalization in the development of an Instrument include:

• Arts and creativity- promote awareness of the arts, increase and sustain engagement and participation for everyone, and integrate education and learning strategies to entrench the arts as a fundamental value and a right of all citizens in support of identity, health, and security.
• Cultural goods and services- recognize that cultural goods and services play a greater role in societies than mere commodities and ensure consumer choice and a diversity of voices.
• Development- facilitate international circulation of artists and creators and establish mechanisms to provide technical and financial assistance.
• Information and communication technologies- ensure that social and economic opportunities provided by the enabling forces of the market are enjoyed by all the world's people.
• Intellectual property- preserve and respect existing international engagements.
• Natural and cultural heritage- facilitate access to natural and cultural heritage to ensure its protection and promote its importance as an expression of our diversity and shared humanity.

A New International Instrument on Cultural Diversity must meet a clearly identified need, fill a legal void, pursue clear objectives and provide appropriate achievable solutions through the norms it sets. An Instrument should also outline the necessary international actions and positive commitments required to realize the principles and objectives in the context of globalization. Over the next year the Working Group on Cultural Diversity and Globalization will develop a draft document for discussion by Ministers in South Africa in 2002.

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