Artists around the world are increasingly being subjected to threats, harassment, and persecution amid a rising wave of authoritarianism, erosion of democratic norms, and the increasing use of invasive and omnipresent surveillance technologies. Artistic freedom and artist safety require protection from attacks and repression by both State and non-State actors, and support from a range of stakeholders, including governments, intergovernmental and regional bodies, civil society organizations, and arts and cultural institutions.
In March 2024, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, as part of its work plan for 2024-2025, took the decision to:
Protect the diversity of cultural expressions in emergency situations, including through support for artists, by, inter alia, systematising the lessons learned and undertaking advocacy actions to stress the need to protect artists in emergency situations, as part of the continued work to promote the status of the artist and artistic freedom globally.
Since 2018, ARC has played a leading role in advancing civil society calls for a legal framework that recognizes the role artists play in society and ensures their right to due protection under the umbrella of international law. Inspired by the U.N. Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, ARC, along with a coalition of artists and local, regional and global civil society organizations, are calling for the drafting and adoption of a U.N. Action Plan for the Safety of Artists and the Promotion of Free Artistic and Cultural Expression. Achieving an Action Plan for Artists will not only establish a normative framework and policy in support of at-risk artists, but will also practically mobilize more resources for their protection and resilience.
Additional Resources
Defending Creative Voices
Empowering Creativity
UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
Reshaping Policies for Creativity
Report of the UNSR on Cultural Rights Defenders
Freedom and Creativity
Reshaping Cultural Policies
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
Recommendations Concerning the Status of the Artist