Cultural Rights Defenders: Safeguarding Cultural Heritage and the Right to Participate in Cultural Life

A special category of human rights defenders (HRDs) has emerged over the recent years: cultural rights defenders (CRDs). This has followed the acute interest of the international community in cultural matters, and the series of high level meetings organised at the UN Headquarters with the participation of many States (in particular Italy and Jordan), as well as UNESCO, INTERPOL, UNODOC, and other UN agencies. These efforts came shortly after ISIS audaciously destroyed the Temple of Baalshamin in the ancient city of Palmyra in 2015, and subsequent Financial Action Task Force reports about the smuggling of cultural artifacts and other antiquities being an essential aspect of ISIS terrorist financing. Consequently, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2199 of 2015, in which it deplored the destruction of heritage, and decided that all member states should take measures to prevent the illicit removal and trafficking of such objects. Few months later, the UN General Assembly also passed Resolution 69/281, recognising the need to protect Iraqi heritage, while in 2016, the Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 33/20 on “Cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage”, which highlighted the “right of everyone to take part in cultural life, including the ability to access and enjoy cultural heritage.”