The World Heritage community is currently adopting policies to mainstream human rights as part of a wider sustainability agenda. This interdisciplinary book combines a state of the art review of World Heritage policy and practice at the global level with ethnographic case studies from the Asia-Pacific region by leading scholars in the field. By joining legal reviews, anthropology and practitioner experience through in-depth case studies, it shows the diversity of human rights issues in both natural and cultural heritage sites. From site-designation to their conservation and management, the book explores the various rights issues and analyses the diverse social, cultural and legal challenges and responses at both regional and global level. Detailed case studies are included from Australia, Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines and Vietnam. The book will appeal to both natural and cultural heritage professionals and human rights and heritage scholars, and will serve as a useful compendium for courses use allowing students to compare, contrast and contextualize different contexts.

Is there a universal right to the free expression and preservation of cultural heritage, and if so, where is that right articulated and how can it be protected? No corner of today’s world has escaped the effects of globalization – for better or worse. This volume addresses a deeply political aspect of heritage preservation and management as it relates to human rights.

This theoretically innovative anthology investigates the problematic linkages between conserving cultural heritage, maintaining cultural diversity, defining and establishing cultural citizenship, and enforcing human rights. It is the first publication to address the notions of cultural diversity, cultural heritage and human rights in one volume. Heritage provides the basis of humanity’s rich cultural diversity. While there is a considerable literature dealing separately with cultural diversity, cultural heritage and human rights, this book is distinctive and has contemporary relevance in focusing on the intersection between the three concepts. Cultural Diversity, Heritage and Human Rights establishes a fresh approach that will interest students and practitioners alike and on which future work in the heritage field might proceed.

This book focuses on the balance between protecting human rights and protecting world heritage sites. It concerns itself with the idea that the management of heritage properties worldwide may fail to adequately respect traditional entitlements and rights of individuals and communities living within or being affected by changes in the use of these spaces. It also explores the concept that the international heritage field has limited knowledge and awareness of this challenge. The volume argues that the dilemmas in question result from different conceptualisations of the key terms of 'rights', 'heritage' and 'community' among different groups and across political and cultural boundaries. In so far as 'culture' is what enables us to read the meanings involved, the ultimate questions are those that ask whose power is contested when one meaning is ‘fixed’ and the heritage of one group of humans is given the right to have its symbolic representation enjoyed and protected. The included case studies give vivid examples of this. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Heritage Studies.

This book includes twenty case studies of World Heritage sites from around the world that explore, from a human rights perspective, indigenous peoples' experiences with World Heritage sites and with the processes of the World Heritage Convention. The book will serve as a resource for indigenous peoples, World Heritage site managers, and UNESCO, as well as academics, and it will contribute to discussions about what changes or actions are needed to ensure that World Heritage sites can play a consistently positive role for indigenous peoples, in line with the spirit of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

This theoretically innovative anthology investigates the problematic linkages between conserving cultural heritage, maintaining cultural diversity, defining and establishing cultural citizenship, and enforcing human rights. It is the first publication to address the notions of cultural diversity, cultural heritage and human rights in one volume. Heritage provides the basis of humanity’s rich cultural diversity. While there is a considerable literature dealing separately with cultural diversity, cultural heritage and human rights, this book is distinctive and has contemporary relevance in focusing on the intersection between the three concepts. Cultural Diversity, Heritage and Human Rights establishes a fresh approach that will interest students and practitioners alike and on which future work in the heritage field might proceed.

Indigenous rights to heritage have only recently become the subject of academic scholarship. This collection aims to fill that gap by offering the fruits of a unique conference on this topic organised by the University of Lapland with the help of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The conference made clear that important information on Indigenous cultural heritage has remained unexplored or has not been adequately linked with specific actors (such as WIPO) or specific issues (such as free, prior and informed consent). Indigenous leaders explained the impact that disrespect of their cultural heritage has had on their identity, well-being and development. Experts in social sciences explained the intricacies of indigenous cultural heritage. Human rights scholars talked about the inability of current international law to fully address the injustices towards indigenous communities. Representatives of International organisations discussed new positive developments. This wealth of experiences, materials, ideas and knowledge is contained in this important volume.