Thématique N°7

A Few Problematic Elements of Cultural Rights, by Jean Hénaire

One of the basic goals of human rights is to reconcile human diversity as a phenomenon of cultural plurality with common values for humanity as a whole. The entire body of international human rights law expresses the desire to each this objective to which article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights bear witness. The Convention on the Rights of the Child roughly adopts the same wording in article 31 in which it is specifically written that the child has the right to participate freely in cultural and artistic life. These articles affirm the principle of recognising that each person has the right to participate in the cultural life of a community as well as scientific progress, the latter being presented as a cultural aspect in the broadest sense of the word. However, such a sweeping statement could quite easily lead to various interpretations. Nonetheless, we will maintain the close link established between the notion of culture and human rights.

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