Dignity of the heritage and the heritage communities (original) (raw)

Legal Research Group on the Protection of Cultural Heritage

Multilateral Legal Research Group on the Protection of Cultural Heritage, 2024

This project represents the combined efforts of the national groups from ELSA Austria, ELSA Bulgaria, ELSA Georgia, and ELSA Lithuania. The LRG introduces the theme of tangible cultural heritage and its protection in both international and national contexts. In the Introduction the topics of defining cultural heritage and its various divisions, the historical development of international cooperation on the matter and the international and EU standards are presented. This comparative research provides a unique perspective on cultural rights as human rights, addresses criminal offenses and misdemeanors concerning cultural monuments, and examines the protection of cultural heritage in contemporary times, amidst an increasing number of war conflicts and natural disasters.

CULTURAL RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE CULTURAL HERITAGE – A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE

This paper examines the concept of common heritage and its role in achieving greater unity between member states of the Council of Europe through the development of policy concerned with the relationship between culture and human rights, protection of both individual and collective cultural rights of vulnerable groups, avoidance of conflict between majority and minority cultures and the importance of community through recognition of the cultural values of others. It refers to the European Declaration on Cultural Objectives (Berlin, 1984) on protection of heritage, universal access to heritage, promotion of diversity using heritage and issues of identity. It builds on these aspects referring to specific Conventions of the Council of Europe (on cultural policies, architecture, archaeology, landscape, and on minorities) and the promotion of cultural cooperation to support and maintain democracy and stability following wilful destruction of heritage in recent conflicts. The standard setting Faro Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society, which came into force in 2011 and is currently being promoted, is considered in the context of cultural heritage from a human rights perspective, linking to the report and recommendations of the UN Expert in the field of cultural rights in 2011. Its principles are considered through post conflict and confidence building initiatives in the Balkans, Black Sea and South Caucasus and in countries which have not yet signed, such as raising awareness of heritage built on the slave trade in the UK to bring a better understanding between different groups in British society.

Cultural Heritage and Human Rights

In todaya (TM)s world, there seems to be no corner of the world that has not been affected by globalization a" for good and for bad. While the world becomes more hegemonized socially and culturally, local communities are fighting to preserve their way of life as part of their heritage. Travel and cultural institutions use this a oeuniquenessa to promote travel and tourism; and while this brings in revenue and exposure, cultural heritage sites that were preserved by virtue of their isolation are now being severely damaged and even destroyed. At the same time, there is a growing awareness that while this unique heritage is used to define a community, society or nation, it also can be a basis for conflict.

World Heritage and rights-based approaches (2014)

REPORT FROM WORKSHOP IN OSLO 1-3 APRIL 2014 BUILDING CAPACITY TO SUPPORT RIGHTS-BASED APPROACHES INTHE WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION: LEARNING FROM PRACTICE, “Building capacity to support rights-based approaches in the World Heritage Convention: Learning from practice” carried out by IUCN, ICCROM and ICOMOS, and coordinated by ICOMOS Norway.

Archaeological Cultural Heritage as a Human Right through the Lens of Human Dignity

Master's Degree in Democracy and Human Rights , 2018

The research provides a critical descriptive analysis of three main themes which are: First, the universal humanistic stature of Cultural Heritage, specifically the value and importance of architectural cultural heritage for humanity as a whole and the impossibility of dividing it. Second, the status of archaeological cultural heritage in the human rights system, more precisely in law, and the position of cultural heritage amongst us; how we interact with it between commoditizing, destroying and mummifying. Third, the concept of Human Dignity, its terminology in the human rights system and how we could, through the lens of human dignity, enforce cultural heritage positively by law. After presenting interlocked dynamic relationships between these themes, the thesis considers the reality of cultural heritage within the contemporary neoliberal system. The research's main question asks: what is the positionality of cultural heritage in the neoliberal system? Also, how could we improve it? The thesis argues that we can use the concept of human dignity, which is present in the human rights law system, to reach a more symbiotic approach between the theory and practice that are envisioned in the human rights system. The thesis finds that the manifestations of the problems where cultural heritage is either destroyed, mummified or commodified within the neo-liberal system, are universal since they are transnational and exist in different and variant situations; for example in the event of war