ifa Edition Culture and Foreign Policy Intangible Cultural Heritage under Pressure? Examining Vulnerabilities in ICH Regimes - Minorities, Indigenous Peoples and Refugees Jessika Eichler ifa Edition Culture and Foreign Policy Intangible Cultural Heritage under Pressure? Examining Vulnerabilities in ICH Regimes Jessika Eichler Content List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................................... 4 Foreword ............................................................................................................................ 4 Abstract .............................................................................................................................. 5 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 6 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 10 2. Methodological Considerations and Interdisciplinary Nature ...................................... 12 3. Definitional Issues: Towards a Universal Definition of Intangible Cultural Heritage? ... 14 3.1 Summary – Chapter 3 .................................................................................................. 14 3.2 Intangible Cultural Heritage, the World Heritage Convention and beyond ................ 14 3.2.1 Tangible versus Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Mere Conceptual Divide?........ 16 3.2.2 The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (CSICH) and its Predecessor(s) ....................................................................................... 20 3.2.3 Safeguarding at Different Levels ........................................................................ 24 3.2.4 Operational Directives for the implementation of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Heritage (OPs) .................................................. 25 3.2.5 Ethical Principles for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (EPSICH) ......... 28 3.3 The Convention and Responses from Academia ......................................................... 29 3.4 ICH Implementation beyond the State: Responses from the EU and the Council of Europe ........................................................................................................................ 35 4. Intangible Cultural Heritage and its Imminent Extinction: Contemporary Risks and Challenges .................................................................................................................. 38 4.1 Summary – Chapter 4 .................................................................................................. 38 4.2 The Pitfalls of Material Heritage Protection and Responses from an Evolving Safeguarding Regime under CSICH ............................................................................. 38 4.3 Systematising Contemporary Threats and Needs ....................................................... 39 4.4 Digitalisation and Commodification ............................................................................ 46 4.5 Tourism ....................................................................................................................... 48 4.6 Conciliating the Irreconcilable? Intangible Cultural Heritage and Human Rights ....... 50 4.7 Gender Issues in the Spotlight .................................................................................... 54 ifa Edition Culture and Foreign Policy Intangible Cultural Heritage under Pressure? Content 5. Intangible Cultural Heritage and Vulnerability or ‘Safeguard within the Safeguards’ .. 57 5.1 Summary – Chapter 5 ................................................................................................. 57 5.2 (Re-)Conceptualising Minorities’ Vulnerable Situations in the Law and Beyond ........ 57 5.3 Minorities, Intangible Culture and Societal Pressures: Particularities and Threats .... 63 5.3.1 Tracing Cultural Rights-Specific Obligations in a Diverse Legal Landscape ........ 64 5.3.2 Persisting Patterns of Discrimination, External and Internal Group Challenges 66 5.3.3 Minority-specific ICH Transmission across the Human Rights Spectrum ........... 69 5.3.4 Disentangling Interpretations in the European Human Rights Sphere: Conflicts, Contradictions, Controversies ........................................................... 70 5.4 Migration and ICH-related Dilemmas in Contemporary Settings................................ 75 5.5 Traditional and Novel ICH as Forums for New Expressions: Celebrating Carnival and its Virtuous ‘Side Effects’ ............................................................................................ 83 5.6 Other ICH Mechanisms as Forums for Diverse Expressions: Theatre, Arts and other Artistic Expressions ..................................................................................................... 95 6. Concluding Remarks: Safeguarding, ICH-Specific Responses and Beyond .................. 101 6.1 Intellectual Property Regimes as Safeguarding Mechanisms? ................................. 102 6.2 Multiple Framework Safeguarding: Intangible Cultural Heritage as Distinct Cultural Right ............................................................................................................ 104 7. Recommendations .................................................................................................... 107 References ...................................................................................................................... 120 About the Author............................................................................................................ 139 ifa Edition Culture and Foreign Policy Intangible Cultural Heritage under Pressure? List of Abbreviations List of Abbreviations CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CFR Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union CoE Council of Europe CPHRFF Convention for the Protections of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms CPPDCE Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions CSICH Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage ECHR European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ECJ European Court of Justice/Court of Justice of the European Union ECtHR European Court of Human Rights EPSICH Ethical Principles for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage EU European Union GC General Comment (referring to interpretations issued by UN treaty monitoring bodies) IACtHR Inter-American Court of Human Rights ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICH Intangible Cultural Heritage IHRL International Human Rights Law NGO Non-Governmental Organisation OPs Operational Directives for the implementation of the Convention for the Safe- guarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage TEU Treaty on European Union TFEU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union UN United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UN OHCHR United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights WHC World Heritage Convention WIPO World Intellectual Property Organisation WTO World Trade Organisation ifa Edition Culture and Foreign Policy Intangible Cultural Heritage under Pressure? Foreword Foreword The play of the Irish harp, the Kwagh-Hi theatrical performance from Nigeria and the traditional massage technique Nuad Thai were included in the UNESCO Representative List of Human Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2019 with 32 other forms of living tradi- tions. The Representative List, containing 464 forms of Intangible Cultural Heritage in total, gives greater visibility and awareness to the importance of Intangible Cultural Her- itage worldwide. Endangered cultural expressions which require effective conservation measures are classified on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding that includes 64 forms to date. The main reasons of practices being classified as ‘in need of urgent safeguarding’ are because of urbanisation, (forced) migration and technological developments, according to the author of this study, Jessika Eichler. In times of ever faster technological developments and increasing migration including from rural to urban areas within respective countries, we have to discuss the transmission of oral traditions, handcrafting or cultural knowledge to following generations. Jessika Eichler describes legal international developments in protecting Intangible Cultur- al Heritage, highlights the main challenges of the current system due to increasing threats to cultural traditions and discusses possible actions. This study offers a unique overview of the development of international ICH regimes including an analysis of cultural and human rights within these regimes. This publication forms part of ifa’s Research Programme ‘Culture and Foreign Policy’, in which experts address relevant issues relating to culture and foreign policy with the aim of involving academics, practitioners, policymakers and civil society. I would like to thank Jessika Eichler for her dedicated work and commitment to this re- search project. In addition, I would like to thank my ifa colleagues Odila Triebel, Sarah Widmaier and Anja Schön for their work on the coordination and editing of this project. Ronald Grätz Secretary General, ifa 4 ifa Edition Culture