Participation in Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage Viewed as a Human Rights Imperative

The 2003 UNESCO Convention for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is clearly situated within a human rights context, though putting these aspirations into practice can prove challenging, in particular the notion of participation that is promoted by the Convention. More recently, the significance of heritage to local actors has become much better understood and international law now calls for a greater democratization of the heritage protection paradigm, in particular through community participation in its identification, safeguarding and management. The question of how real participation by various actors - heritage bearers and associated groups and communities, civil society, private sector actors, and others - can be ensured touches very directly on human rights related to ICH safeguarding. Museums have the potential to play a very specific role in ensuring that this aspect of the 2003 Convention is put into practice and this article attempts to locate this role of museums within this broader context of the relevant human rights.