Session 3: Ethical Principles for Safeguarding ICH

After the 2003 Convention proposed the aforementioned safeguarding measures, there have still been many cases of inadequate respect for the communities, groups and individuals who create ICH. For example, the commercialisation of ICH may involve commercial use of ICH data or recordings without permission from or benefit to the communities concerned. Therefore, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage established by UNESCO according to the Convention endorsed in 2015 a set of 12 ethical principles for safeguarding ICH. Some main points of the ethical principles are highlighted below:

Protecting the Rights of Communities and Ensuring They Benefit

The set of principles emphasise that the communities should be at the centre of ICH safeguarding. For instance, the second principle recognises the need to respect the right of communities “to continue the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills necessary to ensure the viability of the intangible cultural heritage”. The seventh principle states that the communities who create ICH “should benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from such heritage” (UNESCO, 2015a).

By securing their rights and benefits, not only can the communities generate income and improve quality of life, but also prevent the ICH they bore from being misrepresented, exploited or decontextualized (UNESCO, 2016a). It also extends to the application of intellectual property rights, privacy rights and any other appropriate form of legal protection for safeguarding of ICH.

 
Ensuring Fullest Possible Community Participation

As the communities, groups and individuals concerned are essentially the brains that hold the methods of sustaining an ICH, it is important to ensure their fullest possible participation of in the safeguarding activities. The sixth ethical principle stresses that the value of ICH should be assessed by its own community and “should not be subject to external judgements”. The twelfth principle emphasises that, while ICH safeguarding should be a cooperative effort among bilateral, sub regional, regional and international parties, communities should not be alienated from their own ICH (UNESCO, 2015a).

Community participation is vital during the inventorying of an ICH as it ensures that the ICH is represented correctly. Community participation is also essential during the nomination of ICH to the Lists of the Convention because it safeguards the community’s rights and will of the implementation and operation of related activities (UNESCO, 2016a).

 

 

 

Obtaining Free, Prior, Sustained, and Informed Consent

The fourth ethical principle explicitly states that all interactions with the communities who create, safeguarding, maintain and transmit ICH should be subject to their free, prior, sustained and informed consent (UNESCO, 2015a). “Free” refers to decision-making without pressure; “prior” means informing the communities concerned well in advance to allow time for deliberation; “informed” means that all relevant information should be provided for consideration; and “sustained” implies that continuous dialogue with the communities for confirmation and feedback is necessary after a consent has been obtained. The communities should also have the right to not give consent and stop the project or wait for a consensus to be reached (UNESCO, 2016b).

 
Respecting the Dynamic and Living Nature of ICH

The eighth principle points out that the dynamic and living nature of ICH should be continuously respected (UNESCO, 2015a). This principle prevents ICH from being frozen or fixed to its most primitive forms. It gives rooms for creativity and allows ICH to be developed into new forms of expression as the communities move forward. Authenticity should not be a concern or obstacle in ICH safeguarding. Instead, safeguarding measures should focus more on the transmission of social meaning, identity, knowledge and skills behind the ICH (UNESCO, 2016b).

 

Continue to “Session 4: Case Studies of International, National and Local Initiatives”