The 2001 Declaration on Cultural Diversity set out the rights and principles underpinning the international community’s recognition of the importance of cultural diversity. It recalled relevant sections of the UNESCO constitution; recognized cultural diversity as the “common heritage of humanity;” affirmed the links between cultural diversity and human rights; referenced previous international instruments that incorporated provisions relating to cultural diversity (including the Florence Agreement of 1950 and its Nairobi Protocol of 1976, the Universal Copyright Convention of 1952, the Declaration of the Principles of International Cultural Cooperation of 1966, the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property of 1970, the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972, the Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice of 1978, the Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist of 1980, and the Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore of 1989); and in an annex set out a action plan for the implementation of the declaration.
The Declaration also commits UNESCO to “pursue its activities in standard-setting, awareness-raising and capacity-building in the areas related to the present Declaration within its fields of competence” (Article 12(c)).
Negotiation of a legal standard-setting instrument on cultural diversity was initiated with the adoption of Resolution 32C/34 at the 32nd session of the UNESCO General Conference (October 2003).
In accordance with this resolution a 15-member group of experts was mandated to submit recommendations on the preparation of a preliminary draft of a Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions. In the course of three meetings, the independent experts succeeded in drawing up a detailed text.
The draft text was submitted to member states for comment, while UNESCO officials undertook consultations with other international organizations (e.g. the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Intellectual Property Organization).
This led to the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization formally adopting the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions on 20 October, 2005.
In March 2007, the Convention entered into force.