HRC61 - EU Statement - Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights

HRC61 - EU Statement - Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights

United Nations Human Rights Council

61^st session

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights

3 March 2026

EU statement

Thank you Mr / Madam Vice / President,

The European Union would like to thank the Special Rapporteur for presenting her report on Cultural rights and nature conservation.

Cultural rights are essential for a comprehensive planning of nature conservation. In this regard, the EU Member States are actively engaged in an integrated approach, taking into account the interdependency between cultural economic, and social rights and civil and political rights when adressing nature conservation. The EU's main tool for nature conservation, the Natura 2000 network, integrates cultural landscapes, traditional land uses, and local heritage into conservation planning, ensuring that nature protection respects and preserves cultural values.

Management of these areas often integrates traditional farming, grazing, and forestry practices essential for maintaining biodiversity. Management should be based on the principle of leaving no one behind , including persons with disabilities, with the objective to gurantee their accessibility to natural heritage and their participation to practice connected to nature.

The protection of specific landscapes helps preserve the traditional, historical, and aesthetic values associated with them, supporting the rights of communities to maintain their way of life. The EU Member States take regional and local characteristics, into account when setting conservation objectives, as part of the Habitats Directive.

Madam Special Rapporteur,

The effective protection of biodiversity and ecosystems go hand in hand with respect for human rights, including participation, access to information, and access to justice.

What best practices can you share on involvement of all stakeholders - such as farmers, foresters, and landowners - to ensure that local needs, knowledge, and perspectives are included?

Thank you.