Chamberlain, Kevin; Vrdoljak, Ana --- "Controls on the export of cultural objects and human rights" [2014] ELECD 298; in Nafziger, A.R. James; Paterson, Kirkwood Robert (eds), "Handbook on the Law of Cultural Heritage and International Trade" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014) 532

Book Title: Handbook on the Law of Cultural Heritage and International Trade

Editor(s): Nafziger, A.R. James; Paterson, Kirkwood Robert

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781007334

Section: Chapter 22

Section Title: Controls on the export of cultural objects and human rights

Author(s): Chamberlain, Kevin; Vrdoljak, Ana

Number of pages: 39

Abstract/Description:

Controls over the export of cultural objects have been largely, if not exclusively, driven by state interests. However, who identifies materials as culturally significant, determines how they are to be protected and preserved, and who is to have access to them. How competing interests in these are resolved is increasingly recognised as having a human rights dimension. The adoption of a holistic definition of cultural heritage in recent multilateral instruments has been accompanied by greater awareness of the relevance of human rights norms for its protection. This development reiterates the integral importance of movable heritage and the detrimental effects of the illicit trade in cultural objects. The cross-fertilisation between cultural heritage law and human rights law highlights again the often competing claims of various right-holders. Yet, oversight mechanisms of human rights instruments, including national reports and individual complaints, provide a broader scope for the articulation and evolution of jurisprudence relating to the protection of cultural heritage, including cultural objects, resolution of competing claims, and sanctions and remedies for breaches. The UN Independent Expert on Cultural Rights, Ms Farida Shaheed, noted recently that: [a]ccess to and enjoyment of cultural heritage as a human right is a necessary and complementary approach to the preservation/safeguard of cultural heritage.