Cultural rights: a still over-looked category of human rights

Abstract

The present article aims to provide an interpretative view of cultural rights, human rights that still demand greater attention. These rights are conceptually chal-lenging, since the idea of culture has a vast scope and is hard to define. Nonetheless, it is proposed to conceive them as “express cultural rights”. Within these specific rights there is a wide range of legally relevant cultural issues that interrelate. The notions of identi-ties, diversity and cultural heritage, key parts of the broad sense of culture, are briefly addressed. In addition, the collective dimension of culture is associated with the group exercise of individual rights. The thorny issue of collective rights is also brought up. This is relevant to indigenous peoples and cultural minorities. Finally, certain aspects of the right to take part in cultural life, which is seen as the most comprehensive of cultural rights, are dealt in greater depth. In particular, emphasis is given to the obligations that concern the States to respect, protect and fulfill this right. This analysis might provide insights for the scope of the entire category of cultural rights.