Impact of Articles 16 and 21

Sharing knowledge on the impact of Articles 16 and 21

Both Articles 16 and 21 have an impact on various areas and themes which are interlinked including international trade, international cooperation, culture and development.

The Secretariat, through consultations with Parties, international organizations and civil society, collects, analyses and makes available information on the implementation and impact of Article 16 and 21. Through an online database  Parties, international organizations, civil society, are equally invited to participate in this information collection effort and to share experiences and practices, by regularly submitting relevant documents and information on events to the Secretariat.

The environment in which Articles 16 and 21 are applied is a complex one.  See concept note on “Preferential treatment, international coordination and consultation”. The diagram below illustrates the various transversal elements that are common to these two provisions and demonstrates the complex environment in which they are to be implemented.

Status of the artist-art16/21.png

art16 Preferential Treatment

Article 16 - Preferential Treatment

Article 16 calls on Parties from developed countries to implement preferential treatment for artists, cultural professionals and practitioners, as well as and cultural goods and services from developing countries. Through appropriate institutional and legal frameworks, this provision calls for a new approach to international cooperation by promoting a more balanced flow of cultural goods and services and greater mobility of artists and cultural professionals from the developing world. 

This clause allows countries to introduce an exception to standard “non discrimination” principles in international trade. It should also be understood as having a cultural component.  It is therefore a cross-cutting principle, involving cultural, trade and environmental policies, and informing all types of international exchange in the context of the 2005 Convention.

Measures to implement Preferential Treatment can be done at the individual level (benefitting artists and other cultural professionals), at the institutional level (access of cultural goods and services to regional and international markets) and at the industry level (bilateral, regional and multilateral frameworks and mechanisms)

art21 International consultations

Article 21 on international consultation and coordination

Article 21 on international consultation and coordination requires Parties to assume responsibility for promoting the objectives and principles of the Convention in other international forums. While the Article 21 is primarily interpreted in the context of reinforcing Article 20 and the relationship between the Convention and other international treaties, the aim of Article 21 is also to promote consultation processes in different international forums and at various levels.

This involves, for example, intervening in international forums to advance cultural objectives, affirming the objectives and principles of the Convention in cultural and trade agreements, consulting other Parties when signing new bilateral agreements that address the objectives and principles of the Convention, engaging in dialogue with States not Party to the Convention to encourage ratification, or taking into account the Convention within the framework of discussions on the link between culture and development.