What are Cultural Rights? Protecting Groups With Individual Rights

Abstract

This article explores the notion of cultural rights and argues for a particular way of conceiving of them. Cultural rights are mentioned in several international human rights covenants and declarations but these do not provide a detailed conception of what cultural rights are. It is argued that the best way to protect cultural groups is by conceiving of cultural rights as primarily individual rights and using this determination as the key to balancing between the interests of individuals and groups when working to protect culture. The protection of culture entails safeguarding an individual's ability to form, to maintain, to reinterpret, and even to leave a cultural group. The protection of the traditions and institutions that are the expressions of a culture is secondary to this goal. By making individual autonomy the center of the preservation of culture, it is possible to avoid the risks associated with reifying culture and possibly preventing it from evolving naturally. This argument will proceed in three parts. First, the use of the term “cultural right” in international human rights documents will be discussed. Second, some of the key concepts underlying cultural rights will be examined, including the meaning of culture and the distinction between individual and group rights. Finally, the conceptual and substantive meaning of cultural rights will be considered and discussed.