Welcome to the United Nations 
OHCHR 
Communications on legislation and policy
Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights
All communications of the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights have been made public in the joint communications reports of special procedures mandate holders. This report is issued three times per year for the sessions of the Human Rights Council. To access any of the original letters sent by the Special Rapporteur and responses received by concerned States, please go to the joint communication reports page, or the communication database, and select "Cultural rights" in the list of mandates. Past communications will appear in chronological order by the date they were sent.
Allegation letters are identified as AL, and urgent appeals as UA. Most communications are addressed jointly with other Special procedure mandates, and are therefore joint communications, identified as JAL or JUA.
In the table below, you will find the communications addressing laws, regulations and policies, also known as "Other letters" (OTH). These are identified as JOL when signed jointly by other Special Rapporteurs.
| Country | Date | Type of comm and ref. | Summary of the allegations transmitted (original language) | Reply from State |
| Armenia | 29/03/2018 | JOL ARM 1/2018 | Information received concerning the Law on Prevention of Violence within the Family, Protection of Victims of Violence within the Family and Restoration of Peace in the Family, adopted by the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia on 8 December 2017 | 31 May 2018 |
| China | 12/01/2018 | JOL CHN 1/2018 | Information received concerning the directive on bilingual education issued on 28 June 2017 by Hotan's Education Department. | 15 Mar 2018 |
| Cuba | 12/06/2019 | JOL CUB 2/2019 | Información recibida en relación al Decreto 349 sobre "Contravenciones de las regulaciones en materia de política cultural y sobre la prestación de servicios artísticos", que entró en vigor el 7 de diciembre de 2018, y señalar a la atención del Gobierno de su Excelencia la información que hemos recibido en relación con las restricciones impuestas al derecho a la libertad de expresión artística y creatividad, al derecho a la libertad de expresión y al derecho a la libertad de reunión pacífica y a la libertad de asociación, como resultado de la aplicación del mencionado decreto | 15 Aug 2019 |
| Canada | 20/12/2018 | JOL CAN 4/2018 | Information received concerning changes to the sexuality education curriculum of the Province of Ontario. | 7/05/2019 |
| European Union | 26/10/2017 | JOL OTH 26/2017 | Informations reçues concernant des mesures discriminatoires dont auraient été victimes des femmes rurales Abbeys dans deux villages du sud de la Côte d'Ivoire (Offa et Gouabo) relativement à leur droit à la propriété de la terre dans le cadre d'un projet financé par l'Union Européenne | No |
| France | 28/09/2015 | OL OL FRA 5/2015 | Lettre concernant l’adoption prochaine d’une loi en France sur la liberté de création, l’architecture et le patrimoine. Selon les informations reçues, le projet de loi en discussion au Parlement français affirme clairement la liberté de création, mais omet de mentionner les libertés correspondantes de présenter, d’exposer et de diffuser des œuvres et créations. La lettre rappelle que ces aspects sont indissociables pour la jouissance du droit de participer à la vie culturelle, tel qu’énoncé dans l’article 27 de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme et l’article 15 du Pacte international relatif aux droits économiques, sociaux et culturels, et pour la réalisation du droit à la liberté d’opinion et d’expression, y compris sous une forme artistique, tel que consacré à l’article 19 du Pacte relatif aux droits civils et politiques. | No |
| 31/05/2022 | JOL FRA 3/2022 | Commentaires et suggestions à propos de la décision du Conseil constitutionnel du 21 mai 2021 concernant l’enseignement en « langues régionales ». Nous craignons que l'adoption et l'application de cette décision puissent entraîner des atteintes importantes aux droits humains des minorités linguistiques en France. | No | |
| Greece | 18/03/2024 | OL GRC 1/2024 | Concerns regarding the draft law on Measures for the Preservation and promotion of the intangible cultural heritage, the protection and strengthening of the Greek-language song and orchestral music delivery of Greek language song and the protection and dissemination of Greek-language, in the context of the preservation and promotion of the intangible cultural heritage. | |
| Hungary | 12/09/2018 | JOL HUN 6/2018 | Information received concerning a governmental directive forbidding the teaching of the subject of gender studies at institutions of higher education | No |
| Indonesia | 25/11/2022 | JOL IDN 2/2022 | Information received regarding the proposed amendments to the Indonesian Criminal Code, Rivisi Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana (RKUHP) that would further criminalize abortion, discriminate against women and girls, religious or belief minorities and LGBT persons, punish extramarital sex and live-in relationships and hamper the freedoms of expression, religion or belief and association. | 14 Feb 2023 |
| Israel | 2/11/2018 | JOL ISR 12/2018 | Information received concerning the adoption of the new Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People by the Israeli Knesset, on 19 July 2018. | No |
| 0505/2022 | JOL ISR 6/2022 | Information received concerning Counter-Terrorism Law 5776-2016 and related regulations and orders. | No | |
| Latvia | 28/09/2022 | JOL LVA 1/2022 | Information received concerning a bill severely limiting education in minority languages of Latvia through the requirement that all pre-school and school institutions, including those operating in minority-language or bilingual institutions, transition to Latvian-language instruction. Those amendments, in addition, were developed without effective and meaningful participation of the affected minorities. | 23 Dec 2022 23 Dec 2022 (Annex) |
| Mauritania | 14 May 2018 | JOL MRT 1/2018 | Informations reçues la révision de l'article 306 du Code pénal mauritanien. Le projet de loi portant révision du Code pénal a été validé par le Gouvernement le 17 novembre 2017, lors du Conseil des ministres. Le 27 avril 2018, le projet de loi a ensuite été adopté par consensus par l'Assemblée Nationale | No |
| Mexico | 7/11/2022 | JOL MEX 12/2022 | Información recibida en relación con las resoluciones que tomará la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación sobre las pretensiones presentadas en el Amparo de revisión 358/2022, que impugnan los artículos 212 y 215 de la Ley General de Salud, así como la Modificación de la Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-051-SCFI/SSA1-2010, Especificaciones generales de etiquetado para alimentos y bebidas no alcohólicas preenvasados – Información comercial y sanitaria publicada el 5 de abril de 2020. | |
| Other (Grainger PLC) | 9/08/2019 8/05/2018 | JOL OTH 39/2019 OTH 14/2018 | Follow-up letter to OTH 13/2109 Information received concerning the alleged planned expulsion and demolition of the Seven Sisters Indoor Market, in the London Borough of Haringey, for a regeneration initiative which would reportedly have threatened the livelihood and cultural life of the residents and shop owners mainly of minority origins | No Yes, 11 May 2018 05 Feb 2019 |
| Other (Transport for London) | 8/05/2018 | JOL OTH 17/2018 | Information received concerning the alleged planned expulsion and demolition of the Seven Sisters Indoor Market, in the London Borough of Haringey, for a regeneration initiative which would reportedly have threatened the livelihood and cultural life of the residents and shop owners mainly of minority origins. | 14 Jun 2018 |
| Poland | 03/06/2021 | JOL POL 4/2021 | Observations and comments on the selection process for the next Commissioner for Human Rights and the future of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights | 26 July 2021 |
| Sri Lanka | 23/10/2023 | JOL LKA 8/2023 | Information received concerning a Draft Bill for the Amendment of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act No.13 of 1951 (MMDA), which, would it be adopted, would be contrary to international human rights norms. | 27 October 2023 |
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 10 February 2022 | JOL GBR 2/2022 | Concerns about the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and its compatibility with the State’s international human rights law obligations, including the prohibition of discrimination and the rights of minorities. | 8 April 2022 |