Convention on Cultural Diversity Draft March 2002 The Steering Committee of the INCD is pleased to provide the attached Draft Convention on Cultural Diversity, prepared by Canadian trade lawyer Steven Shrybman. The Convention translates into the terms of a binding international treaty on cultural diversity, the principles and concepts endorsed by the membership of the INCD at meetings held in Santorini, Greece in 2000 and Lucerne, Switzerland in 2001. In addition to a preamble, it sets out 20 substantive provisions dealing with the key elements of such a treaty, including rules concerning trade in cultural goods, and investment in providing cultural services. On two key questions: 1) the compliance mechanism the Convention would adopt; and 2) the approach to resolving potential conflicts with international trade and investment agreements, no specific draft provisions have been proposed. While the members of the INCD are agreed these issues need to be addressed by the Convention, a further discussion of the general approaches for doing so is required to narrow the available options. Accordingly, we have attached a broad overview of several of the ways in which these two challenges might be addressed. It is not intended to be exhaustive, so please feel free to augment the list of options if you choose. We believe this Draft Convention represents an important step forward in the goal of preserving and enhancing cultural diversity. We hope you can find the time in your busy schedule to give this the serious attention it deserves. The Draft is being circulated to the members of the INCD for consideration, discussion and feedback. We are looking forward to receiving your response, which should be sent electronically to incd@ccarts.ca or by mail to the address below. Comments received by April 15, 2002 will be considered by the Steering Committee in preparation for a second draft, which will be circulated by May 15, 2002. The final version will be presented and approved at the Third Annual Meeting of the INCD to be held in Cape Town, South Africa October 11-13, 2002. Steering Committee INCD/CCA 804-130 Albert St Ottawa ON K1P 5G4 Canada