Series 2 No. 12 (Spring 2005): Cultural Rights

Since the early 1990s, conflict around the world has been marked by ethnic tensions, and increasingly minorities are calling for political recognition and respect for their cultural identities. Within the area of human rights, the concept of cultural rights has the potential to address the injustices these communities suffer. Yet scholars and practitioners have paid surprisingly little attention to cultural rights, despite the fact that they have been enshrined in international law since 1966 when the United Nations adopted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 27)and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 15). This issue of Human Rights Dialogue focuses on the evolving concept of cultural rights and explores its potential effectiveness both in achieving social justice and advancing the rights claims of ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples and other cultural communities. Contributions from scholars and practitioners bring insight to the context of particular claims for cultural rights or cultural rights abuses, as well as the actions being taken to address them.

Introduction

• Introduction

Section 1

• Section One Introduction: The Case for Cultural Rights
• Rethinking Cultural Genocide Under International Law
• "This Forest Is Ours"
• Language Rights And Guarani Renaissance In Bolivia
• The Stolen Generation: Aboriginal Children In Australia

Section 2

• Section Two Introduction: Claims, Claimants and Conflicts
• Women's Rights As Cultural Rights: The Case Of The Irish Travellers
• A Chinese Lesson On Cultural Rights
• Cultural Rights In The Age Of The 'War On Terror'
• When Rites Are Rights: Cultural Challenges To Marriage Laws

Section 3

• Section Three Introduction: Institutionalization and Standardization
• The Distinctive Culture Test
• A European Experiment In Protecting Cultural Rights
• The UN Human Rights Committee's Decisions
• Cultural Rights And Intellectual Property Debates

Online Exclusive

• A South African Commission's Mandate To Protect Cultural Rights
• World Heritage Rights Versus National Cultural Property Rights: The Case of the Jikji

Discussion Questions

• DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: "Cultural Rights"

Annotated Resources

• ADDITIONAL READINGS on Cultural Rights
• ARTICLE RESOURCES: "Cultural Rights"
• ORGANIZATIONS working on Cultural Rights
• TREATIES AND DECLARATIONS on Cultural Rights