Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
The Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions is an international treaty adopted in October 2005 in Paris during the 33rd session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In response to the fears that globalization would lead to an increasingly uniform global culture, it allows states to protect cultural diversity by promoting and defending their own cultural industries. It also establishes international co-operation to help protect the cultural industries of developing countries, including the creation of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity. It reaffirms many of the principles of the 2001 UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity but, unlike that declaration, it is legally binding and requires legal ratification by member states. The convention is the first international treaty to give cultural goods a special status, having cultural as well as economic value. The convention addresses many audiences and operates at three main levels. Firstly, it is an international treaty governing co-operation between states. Secondly, it guides national and international governments in the legislation and other actions they can take to preserve cultural diversity within their states or regions. Thirdly, it calls for action by public and civil bodies at local and national levels to support diverse cultural expressions. The convention has no enforcing body; it leaves enforcement to the member states but sets out procedures in case of disputes between them. One hundred and forty-eight countries voted to approve the treaty, with five abstaining and the United States and Israel opposing. The agreement came into effect in March 2007 and has been ratified by 151 states as well as by the European Union. The convention was a response to treaties and other international measures promoting trade liberalization in cultural goods, especially the actions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
