Cultural Heritage Protection in Islamic Tradition

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-322
Author(s):  
Fatimah Alshehaby
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
International Law ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
Right To Development ◽  
Crucial Component ◽  
Heritage Protection ◽  
The Right ◽  
Protection Of Cultural Heritage

AbstractCultural heritage is a crucial component that plays a fundamental role in defining an individual’s identity and advancing the protection of his or her human rights. Reinforcing cultural distinctions and human differences are significant and therefore recognized in Islam. This article enhances the understanding of an Islamic approach to cultural heritage and human rights through the lens offered by three examples: the right to education, freedom of religion, and the right to development. The discussion of the protection of cultural heritage in Islam is essential because Islam is one of the legal sources in many Muslim states, and, therefore, the examination of its intersection with international law could enhance the protection of cultural heritage and promote human rights in the Islamic world. The article develops principles of cultural heritage protection that are in conformity with international law. These principles are the promising common ground for the possibility of universal cultural heritage policy. Despite the fact that there is no clear reference to the notion of cultural heritage in Islamic teaching, this article shows that principles of the protection of cultural heritage are established.

scholarly journals Cultural heritage: Right, identity and dignity: Right of access to and enjoyment of cultural heritage as a human right

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 1210-1259
Author(s):  
Branko Rakić
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Heritage Protection ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Access

In international human rights law established after World War Two, one of cultural rights that has been traditionally most neglected out of five categories of human rights (civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights), is the right to participation in cultural life, while its segment, by the nature of things, is also the right of access to and enjoyment of cultural heritage. Although international human rights law thus establishes the basis for treating the right of access to and enjoyment of cultural heritage as a human right, international acts dealing with the matters of cultural heritage protection have had a long-prevailing approach in which cultural goods were protected because of their inherent value. It was only recently, with the emerging needs and interests in respect of the safeguarding of cultural diversity and protection of intangible cultural heritage, that the emphasis began to be placed on the relationship, including the legal one, between cultural heritage and human communities, groups and individuals with a special subjective attitude towards it. That is how the human-rights based system of cultural heritage protection was gradually established and the segment of international law dealing with human rights was brought closer to the segment dealing with cultural heritage. In order to consider a right as a human right, apart from the will of law-makers to be like that, it also requires the existence of certain values which constitute the basis for it and which should be safeguarded through the protection of that human right. An understanding deriving from a series of international legal acts and being widespread in theory is that, when it comes to cultural rights, including the right of access to and enjoyment of cultural heritage, such basis is constituted by identity, first of all cultural identity, and human dignity. Therefore, although the foundation is laid for the right of access to and enjoyment of cultural heritage to be treated as a human right, it is necessary to clarify and elaborate, at the legal level, a number of questions which should ensure effective enjoyment of this right. The task is in the hands of states, either as participants in the adoption of international law acts or as national law-makers, so the question remains open as to the nature of their attitude to further development of the human-rights based system of cultural heritage protection.

Part II Substantive Aspects, Ch.4 Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lenzerini Federico
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Community ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Special Significance ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Protection Of Cultural Heritage

This chapter focuses on the practice of deliberate destruction of cultural heritage, which has represented a plague accompanying humanity throughout all phases of its history and has involved many different human communities either as perpetrators or victims. In most instances of deliberate destruction of cultural heritage, the target of perpetrators is not the heritage in itself but, rather, the communities and persons for whom the heritage is of special significance. This reveals a clear discriminatory and persecutory intent against the targeted cultural groups, or even against the international community as a whole. As such, intentional destruction of cultural heritage, in addition of being qualified as a war crime, is actually to be considered as a crime against humanity. Furthermore, it also produces notable implications in terms of human rights protection. Protection of cultural heritage against destruction is today a moral and legal imperative representing one of the priorities of the international community. In this respect, two rules of customary international law exist prohibiting intentional destruction of cultural heritage in time of war and in peacetime.

The Sen Conception of Development and Contemporary International Law Discourse: Some Parallels

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhupinder Chimni
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
International System ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Right To Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right

The Sen conception of `development as freedom' represents a departure from previous approaches to development that focused merely on growth rates or technological progress. Sen however fails to adequately address the social constraints that inhibit the realization of the goal of `development as freedom.' There is an interesting parallel here with developments in contemporary international law. While contemporary international law incorporates the idea of `development as freedom' in international human rights instruments, in particular the Declaration on the Right to Development, mainstream international law scholarship has like Sen failed to indicate the constraints in the international system that prevent its attainment. Since Sen is today among the foremost thinkers on the idea of development reviewing the parallels between his conception of development and mainstream international law scholarship is helpful as it offers insights into the limits of both.

scholarly journals Indigenous Peoples, World Heritage, and Human Rights

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Filipa Vrdoljak
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Cultural Organization ◽  
World Heritage Convention ◽  
The World ◽  
The Right ◽  
Human Rights Based Approach

Abstract:Indigenous peoples’ emphasis on protecting their cultural heritage (including land) through a human rights-based approach reveals the synergies and conflicts between the World Heritage Convention and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This article focuses on how their insistence on the right to participate effectively in decision-making and centrality of free, prior, and informed consent as defined in the UNDRIP exposes the limitations of existing United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and World Heritage Convention processes effecting Indigenous peoples, cultures, and territories and how these shortcomings can be addressed. By tracking the evolution of the UNDRIP and the World Heritage Convention from their drafting and adoption to their implementation, it examines how the realization of Indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination concerning cultural heritage is challenging international law to become more internally consistent in its interpretation and application and international organizations to operate in accordance with their constitutive instruments.

scholarly journals Dignifying, Restoring, and Reimagining International Law and Justice Through Connections with Arts and Culture

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 108-110
Author(s):  
Karima Bennoune
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
International Law ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Universal Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Expressions ◽  
Law And Justice ◽  
The Right ◽  
Key Aspects

This symposium provides a critical opportunity for international legal scholars to engage with the value and power of certain aspects of culture. The successive holders of the UN mandate on cultural rights have declined to define culture, instead taking a holistic, inclusive approach to its meanings, including inter alia diverse forms of artistic and cultural expressions, languages, worldviews, practices, and cultural heritage. Cultural rights—including the right to take part in cultural life without discrimination, the right to access and enjoy cultural heritage, and freedom of artistic expression—are a core part of the universal human rights framework. They are vital in and of themselves and protect key aspects of the human experience, but they have also been increasingly recognized as important elements of accessing justice and responding to atrocities and as “fundamental to creating and maintaining peaceful and just societies and to promoting enjoyment of other universal human rights.” The artistic and cultural expressions which result from the exercise of these rights likewise have inherent value and can also play significant roles in achieving basic goals of international law and human rights. As I noted in a report to the UN Human Rights Council in my capacity as UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights:Humanity dignifies, restores and reimagines itself through creating, performing, preserving and revising its cultural and artistic life . . . . Cultural heritage, cultural practices and the arts are resources for marshalling attention to urgent concerns, addressing conflicts, reconciling former enemies, resisting oppression, memorializing the past, and imagining and giving substance to a more rights-friendly future.

scholarly journals Beyond Resolution 2347 (2017): The Search for Protection of Cultural Heritage from Armed Non-State Groups

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
Giulia Baj
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
The Right ◽  
Protection Of Cultural Heritage

One expression of cultural rights is the right to enjoy cultural heritage. However, the latter is not efficiently protected in situations of armed conflict. In many cases, armed non-State groups (ANSGs) have destroyed or looted cultural heritage items. The United Nations Security Council has intervened with Resolution 2347 (2017), welcomed by many as a milestone in the international protection of cultural heritage in conflict situations. However, this Resolution presents several limitations. The protection of cultural heritage from destruction and exploitation does not appear as the main focus, but rather as a means to fight terrorist groups. The attacks against cultural heritage are considered “war crimes”, but only “under certain circumstances”. The Resolution encourages States “that have not yet done so to consider ratifying” treaties on the issue in question; however, these instruments are treaties drafted and ratified by States. Problems of compliance by non-State actors, as ANSGs, arise. Hence, the capacity of theResolution to effectively protect cultural heritage in conflicts involving ANSGs is debated. This paper analyses the text of Resolution 2347 (2017), resorting to traditional means of interpretation to highlight its limitations, and considers how a general sense of the necessity to protect cultural heritage from attacks committed by ANSGs has emerged, as demonstrated by the International Criminal Court's Al Mahdi case. The paper then considers other ways to guarantee the protection of cultural heritage from ANSGs. A proposal for stronger protection of cultural heritage by States through both international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) is presented. In particular, the connection between the protection of cultural heritage, the guarantee of cultural rights and other human rights is presented, resorting to instruments of doctrine and analyzing instruments of practice. Finally, the case for the stronger international cooperation for the protection of cultural heritage is made; problems of compliance by ANSGs may persist, but the systematic destruction of cultural heritage items can be considered a violation of cultural rights, thus requiring the cooperation of all international stakeholders.

The Origins of Human Rights in Global Health

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence O. Gostin ◽  
Benjamin Mason Meier
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Global Health ◽  
International Law ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Right To Health Care ◽  
Global Standards ◽  
The Right

This chapter introduces the foundational importance of human rights for global health, providing a theoretical basis for the edited volume by laying out the role of human rights under international law as a normative basis for public health. By addressing public health harms as human rights violations, international law has offered global standards by which to frame government responsibilities and evaluate health practices, providing legal accountability in global health policy. The authors trace the historical foundations for understanding the development of human rights and the role of human rights in protecting and promoting health since the end of World War II and the birth of the United Nations. Examining the development of human rights under international law, the authors introduce the right to health as an encompassing right to health care and underlying determinants of health, exploring this right alongside other “health-related human rights.”

Comparative Views on the Right to Vote in International Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shai Dothan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
National Courts ◽  
European Court ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right ◽  
Democratic Elections ◽  
The Way

There is a consensus about the existence of an international right to vote in democratic elections. Yet states disagree about the limits of this right when it comes to the case of prisoners’ disenfranchisement. Some states allow all prisoners to vote, some disenfranchise all prisoners, and others allow only some prisoners to vote. This chapter argues that national courts view the international right to vote in three fundamentally different ways: some view it as an inalienable right that cannot be taken away, some view it merely as a privilege that doesn’t belong to the citizens, and others view it as a revocable right that can be taken away under certain conditions. The differences in the way states conceive the right to vote imply that attempts by the European Court of Human Rights to follow the policies of the majority of European states by using the Emerging Consensus doctrine are problematic.

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