SECTION THREE
CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
I.
INTERNATIONAL AUTHORITIES AND PRECEDENTS
1.
Draft United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
(UN 1994)
Article
12: "Indigenous peoples have the right to practice and revitalize their
cultural traditions and customs. This includes the right to maintain,
protect and develop the past, present and future manifestations of their
cultures, such as archaeological and historical sites, artefacts, designs,
ceremonies, technologies and visual and performing arts and literature, as
well as the right to the restitution of cultural, intellectual, religious
and spiritual property taken without their free and informed consent or in
violation of their laws, traditions and customs."
Article 27: "Indigenous
peoples have the right to the restitution of the lands, territories and
resources which they have traditionally owned or otherwise occupied or used,
and which have been confiscated, occupied, used or damaged without their
free and informed consent. Where this is not possible, they have the right
to just and fair compensation. Unless otherwise freely agreed upon by the
peoples concerned, compensation shall take the form of lands, territories
and resources equal in quality, size and legal status."
2. C 169, Convention on Indigenous and Tribal People (ILO Convention
1989)
Article 5: "In applying the
provisions of this Convention:
(a) the social, cultural,
religious and spiritual values and practices of these peoples shall be
recognized and protected, and due account shall be taken of the nature of
the problems which face them both as groups and as individuals;
(b) the integrity of the
values, practices and institutions of these peoples shall be respected;
(c) policies aimed at
mitigating the difficulties experienced by these peoples in facing new
conditions of life and work shall be adopted, with the participation and
co-operation of the peoples affected."
Article 13(1): "In applying
the provisions of this Part of the Convention governments shall respect the
special importance for the cultures and spiritual values of the peoples
concerned of their relationship with the lands or territories, or both as
applicable, which they occupy or otherwise use, and in particular the
collective aspects of this relationship."
Article 14
1. "The rights of
ownership and possession of the peoples concerned over the lands which they
traditionally occupy shall be recognized. In addition, measures shall be
taken in appropriate cases to safeguard the right of the peoples concerned
to use lands not exclusively occupied by them, but to which they have
traditionally had access for their subsistence and traditional activities.
Particular attention shall be paid to the situation of nomadic peoples and
shifting cultivators in this respect.
2. Governments shall
take steps as necessary to identify the lands which the peoples concerned
traditionally occupy, and to guarantee effective protection of their rights
of ownership and possession.
3.
Adequate procedures shall be established within the national legal
system to resolve land claims by the peoples concerned."
3. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (UN
1966)
Article 15(1): “The States
Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to (a) to
take part in the cultural life.”
Article
15(2): “The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present
Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those
necessary for the conservation, the development and the diffusion of science
and culture.”
4. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (UN 1966)
Article 27: “In those States in
which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to
such minorities shall not be denied the right in community with the other
members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice
their own religion, or to use their own language.”
5. International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial
Discrimination (UN 1965)
Article
5: “States Parties undertake to prohibit and to eliminate racial
discrimination in all its forms and to guarantee the right of everyone
(e)(vi): to equal participation in cultural activities.”
6. Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN 1989)
Article
30: “In those States in which...persons of indigenous origin exist, a
child who is indigenous shall not be denied the right, in community with
other members of his or her group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to
profess and practice his or her own religions, or to use his or her own
language."
7. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, December 10, 1948, U.N. G.A.
Res. 217 (III 1948)
Article
27: “Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of
the community.”
8. Charter of Civil Society (CARICOM)
Article X: Cultural Diversity
"The State recognizes that:
(a) each culture has a dignity
and a value which shall be respected and that every person has the right to
preserve and to develop his or her culture;
(b) every person has the right
to participate in the cultural life of his or her choice."
Article XI: Rights of Indigenous Peoples
"The
State recognizes the contribution of the indigenous peoples to the
development process and undertake to continue to protect their historical
rights and respect the culture and way of life of these peoples."
9. Treaty on Central American Social Integration, signed by the
governments of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and
Panama, Cerro Verde, Republic of El Salvador (March 30, 1995)
"Capítulo II. Article 6:
"Principles: The States Parties to the present Treaty will act in
accordance with the following principles (e) Conservation and revival of the
region's cultural pluralism and ethnic diversity in the framework of respect
for human rights."
10.
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic
Religious or Linguistic Minorities (UN 1990)
Article 1: (1)"States shall
protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and
linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and
shall encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity. (2) States
shall adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to achieve those
ends.”
11. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, "General
Recommendation XXIII (51) Concerning Indigenous Peoples" (August
1997)
"The Committee calls in
particular upon States parties to:
a. Recognize and respect
indigenous distinct culture, history, language and way of life as an
enrichment of the State's cultural identity and to promote its preservation.
e.
Ensure that indigenous communities can exercise their rights to practice and
revitalize their cultural traditions and customs, to preserve and to
practice their languages."
12. African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Banjul Charter 1981)
Article
17(2) “Every individual may freely take part in the cultural life of his
community. (3) The promotion and protection of morals and traditional values
recognized by the community shall be the duty of the State.”
13. Alliance for Sustainable Development documents signed by the
Presidents of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and
Panama and a Representative of the Prime Minister of Belize, at the Central
American Ecological Summit for Sustainable Development in Managua,
Nicaragua, (October 12, 1994)
Principles
of the Alliance for Sustainable Development:
"The following are the seven
fundamental principles that we the citizens of Central America have adopted
in our pursuit of sustainable development. They will be reflected in all the policies, programs and
activities promoted by our countries, individually or collectively, and by
civil society, inasmuch as they are the basis of objectives and commitments
of common interest.
5. Respect for Cultural Plurality
and Ethnic Diversity: To
different degrees, the countries of Central America are ethnically and
culturally diverse societies that constitute a great wealth that must be
preserved. Conditions must be such that, within a framework of freedom, all
expressions of culture can be developed, particularly the cultures of
indigenous people, who have descended from cultures that were subjugated
during the conquest and colonization periods. The right to a cultural
identity is a basic human right and the key to coexistence and national
unity.
Annex 1: Specific Objectives of
the Alliance:
Political Objectives: 7. To
support different types of community organizations that preserve national
identity so as to foster cultural plurality and ethnic diversity.
Cultural Objectives:
2. To reinforce the development of a national identity that values
cultural and ethnic diversity. 3.
To promote, protect and make sound use of the cultural and natural wealth of
the region. 4. To foster means
of cultural expression that promote a sound relationship with the
environment. 6. To champion the
restitution and return of cultural assets that have been illegally removed
from the region.
Annex II: Commitments of the
Alliance:
-Cultural Commitments: We pledge
to make culture the noblest expression of our national and regional
identity, within the framework of the Central American Integration System,
reflecting the ethnic and cultural plurality of our peoples, and with a
current view of the changes taking place throughout the world."
Cultural Heritage - We hereby
instruct the ministers of culture, or the pertinent authorities in the
countries, to submit within a period of six months, draft agreements on the
following topics to the respective ministries of foreign affairs:
-Central American Agreement on
the Protection of its Cultural Heritage"
14. Ominayak, Chief of the Lubicon Lake Band v. Canada (Communication No.
167/1984, Report of the Human Rights Committee 1990)
“The
Human Rights Committee construed the cultural rights guarantees of article
27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to extend to
"economic and social activities" upon which the Lubicon Lake Band
of Cree Indians relied as a group. Thus
the committee found that Canada had violated its obligations under article
27 when it allowed the provincial government of Alberta to grant leases for
oil and gas exploration and for timber development within the aboriginal
territory of the Band. The
committee acknowledged that the Band's survival as a distinct cultural
community was bound up with the sustenance that it derived from the land.”
15. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Annual Report 1985. Case Nº
7615 (Brazil)
“In viewing a series of
incursions into Yanomami ancestral lands as a threat not only to the
Yanomami's physical well-being but also to their culture and traditions, the
commission stated that, "international law in its present
state...recognizes the right of ethnic groups to special protection on their
use of their own language, for the practice of their own religion, and in
general, for all those characteristics necessary for the preservation of
their cultural identity."
II. DOMESTIC AUTHORITIES AND PRECEDENTS
16. Argentina
- Ley No. 426 de 1984 (Provincia de Formosa)
Artículo
1: "Esta Ley tiene por objeto la preservación social y cultural de las
comunidades aborígenes, la defensa de su patrimonio y sus tradiciones”.
- Constitución de la Nación
Argentina (1994)
Capítulo Cuarto, Atribuciones del Congreso
Artículo 17: "Reconocer la preexistencia étnica
y cultural de los pueblos indígenas argentinos”.
Artículo 75(19): "Dictar leyes que protejan la
identidad y pluralidad cultural, la libre creación y circulación de las
obras del autor; el patrimonio artístico y los espacios culturales y
audiovisuales”.
17. Brazil
Constitución de la República Federativa de Brasil
Art. 231: “Sao reconhecido aos índios sua
organizacão social, costumes, línguas, crencas e tradicoes..."
Artículo 215 (1) El Estado protegerá las
manifestaciones de las culturales populares, indígenas y afro-brasileñas y
los otros grupos participantes en el proceso de civilización nacional. (2)
La ley dispondrá sobre la fijación de fechas conmemorativas de alta
significación para los diferentes segmentos éticos nacionales.
18. Canada
- Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples
Vol. 4 Recommendations 4.7.1
“The Commission recommends that
Aboriginal cultural identity be supported and enhanced in urban areas.”
Vol. 2 Recommendations 2.41
“The Crown has an obligation to
protect rights concerning lands and resources that underlie Aboriginal
economies and the cultural and spiritual life of Aboriginal peoples.”
2.4.2
“Federal, provincial and
territorial governments, through negotiation, provide Aboriginal nations
with lands that are sufficient in size and quality to foster Aboriginal
economic self-reliance and cultural and political autonomy.”
Vol.
3 Recommendations, 3.5.4
“Aboriginal, provincial and
territorial governments act promptly to reach agreements for mutual
recognition of programs provided by their respective educational
institutions so as to facilitate the transfer of students between
educational systems while protecting the integrity of cultural dimensions of
Aboriginal education.”
Vol. 2 Recommendations
“Aboriginal peoples are not
racial groups; rather they are organic political and cultural entities.”
Vol. 2 Recommendations, 17
“The Canadian Charter of Rights
and Freedoms applies to Aboriginal governments and regulates relations with
individuals falling within their jurisdiction. However, under section 25,
the Charter must be given a flexible interpretation that takes account of
the distinctive philosophies, traditions and cultural practices of
Aboriginal peoples.”
- Nunavut Agreement
32.3.3
“The Council shall assist Inuit
to define and promote their social and cultural development goals and
objectives and shall encourage Government to design and implement social and
cultural development policies and programs appropriate to Inuit.”
33.2.5
“In recognition of the
spiritual, cultural and religious importance of certain areas in the Nunavut
Settlement Area to Inuit, Inuit have special rights and interests in these
areas as defined by this Article.”
35.1.1
“This Article:
(a) recognizes that Inuit are
best able to define who is an Inuk for the purposes of this Agreement;
(b) guarantees that the Inuit
of the Nunavut Settlement Area will be recognized
according to their own
understanding of themselves, and that Inuit shall determine who is an Inuk
for the purposes of this Agreement, and entitled to be enrolled under the
Agreement;
(c) establishes a process that
is just and equitable for determining who is an Inuk for the purposes of
this Agreement, and entitled to be enrolled under the Agreement.”
- Nisga’a Agreement
Par 41-43
“Nisga'a citizens have the
right to practice the Nisga'a culture, and to use the Nisga'a language, in a
manner consistent with this Agreement.”
“Nisga'a Lisims Government may
make laws to preserve, promote, and develop Nisga'a culture and Nisga'a
language, including laws to authorize or accredit the use, reproduction, and
representation of Nisga'a cultural symbols and practices, and the teaching
of Nisga'a language”.
“In
the event of an inconsistency or conflict between a Nisga'a law under
paragraph 41 and a federal or provincial law, the Nisga'a law prevails to
the extent of the inconsistency or conflict.”
Chapter
17, Cultural Artifacts and Heritage
“The Parties recognize the
integral role of Nisga'a artifacts in the continuation of Nisga'a culture,
values, and traditions. Nisga'a Government will develop processes to manage
heritage sites on Nisga'a Lands in order to preserve the heritage values
associated with those sites from proposed land and resource activities that
may affect those sites.”
19. Colombia
Constitución Política de Colombia
Artículo
7: "El Estado reconoce y protege la diversidad étnica y cultural de la
nación colombiana"
Artículo 68: "...Los integrantes de los étnicos
tendrán derecho a una formación que respete y desarrolle su identidad
cultural..."
Artículo 72: "El patrimonio cultural de la Nación
está bajo la protección del Estado. El patrimonio arqueológico y otros
bienes culturales que conforman la identidad nacional, pertenecen a la Nación
y son inalienables, inembargables e imprescriptibles. La ley establecerá
los mecanismos para readquirirlos cuando se encuentren en manos de
particulares y reglamentará los derechos especiales que pudieran tener los
grupos étnicos asentados en territorios de riqueza arqueológica”.
Artículo 55 Transitorio: "Dentro de los dos años
siguientes a la entrada en vigencia de la presente Constitución, el
Congreso expedirá, previo estudio por parte de una comisión especial que
el Gobierno creará para tal efecto, una ley que les reconozca a las
comunidades negras que han venido ocupando tierras baldías en las zonas
rurales ribereñas de los ríos de la Cuenca del Pacífico, de acuerdo con
sus prácticas tradicionales de producción, el derecho a la propiedad
colectiva sobre las áreas que habrá de demarcar la misma ley.
En la comisión especial de que trata el inciso
anterior tendrán participación en cada caso representantes elegidos por
las comunidades involucradas.
La propiedad así reconocida sólo será enajenable
en los términos que señale la ley.
La misma ley establecerá mecanismos para la protección
de la identidad cultural y los derechos de estas comunidades, y para el
fomento de su desarrollo económico y social.
Paragrafo 1º.- Lo dispuesto en el presente artículo
podrá aplicarse a otras zonas del país que presenten similares
condiciones, por el mismo procedimiento y previos estudio y concepto
favorable de la comisión especial aquí prevista.
Paragrafo 2º.- Si al vencimiento del término señalado
en este artículo el Congreso no hubiere expedido la ley a la que él se
refiere, el Gobierno procederá a hacerlo dentro de los seis meses
siguientes, mediante norma con fuerza de ley”.
- Decreto No. 715 de 1992
Artículo
4: "Para el desarrollo de su objeto, el Comité [Nacional de Derechos
Indígenas] ejercerá las siguientes funciones: (2) Velar por el derecho a
la vida, a la integridad física y por los derechos culturales, económicas
y sociales de las comunidades indígenas y sus miembros”.
20. Chile
- Ley 19.253 de 1993
Artículo
7: El Estado reconoce el derecho de los indígenas a mantener y desarrollar
sus propias manifestaciones culturales, en todo lo que no se oponga a la
moral, a las buenas costumbres y al orden público.
El Estado tiene el deber de promover las culturas indígenas, las que
forman parte del patrimonio de la Nación chilena.
Artículo 28: El reconocimiento, respeto y protección
de las culturas e idiomas indígenas contemplará: e) La obligatoriedad del
Registro Civil de anotar los nombres y apellidos de las personas indígenas
en la forma como lo expresen sus padres y con las normas de transcripción
fonética que ellos indiquen, y f) La promoción de las expresiones artísticas
y culturales y la protección del patrimonio arquitectónico, arqueológico,
cultural e histórico indígena. Para el cumplimiento de lo señalado en el
inciso anterior, la Corporación, en coordinación con el Ministerio de
Educación, promoverá planes y programas de fomento de las culturas indígenas.
Se deberá considerar convenios con organismos públicos o privados de carácter
nacional, regional o comunal, que tengan objetivos coincidentes con los señalados
en este artículo. Asimismo
deberá involucrarse para el cumplimiento de dichas finalidades a los
gobiernos regionales y municipalidades.
21. Ecuador
- Constitución Política del Estado
Ecuatoriano
Artículo
23: “Sin perjuicio de los derechos establecidos en esta Constitución y en
los instrumentos internacionales vigentes, el Estado reconocerá y
garantizará a las personas los siguientes: (22) El derecho a participar
enla vida cultural de la comunidad”.
Artículo 62: “La cultura es patrimonio del pueblo
y constituye elemento esencial de su identidad.
El Estado promoverá y estimulará la cultura, la creación, la
formación artística y la investigación científica. Establecerá políticas
permanentes para la conservación, restauración, protección y respeto del
patrimonio cultural tangible e intangible, de la riqueza artística, histórica,
lingüística y arqueológica de la nación, así como del conjunto de
valores y manifestaciones diversas que configuran la identidad nacional,
pluricultural y multiétnica. El
Estado fomentará la interculturalidad, inspirará sus políticas e integrará
sus instituciones según los principios de equidad e igualdad de las
culturas”.
Artículo 84: “El Estado reconocerá y garantizará
a los pueblos indígenas, de conformidad con esta Constitución y la ley, el
respeto al orden público y a los derechos humanos, los siguientes derechos
colectivos a los pueblos indígenas: ... (15) Conservar y desarrollar sus
formas tradicionales de convivencia y organización social, de generación y
ejercicio de la autoridad”.
- Anteproyecto Ley de Nacionalidades Indígenas del Ecuador (1988)
Artículo 6: "EI
Estado ecuatoriano reconoce el derecho de los pueblos indígenas a rescatar,
mantener y promover su cultura; garantizará por ello y promoverá la
vigencia de sus propias formas sociales, costumbres, usos, lengua y formas
de pensamiento”.
22. Guatemala
Constitución Política de la República de Guatemala
Artículo
57: ”Derecho a la cultura. Toda persona tiene derecho a participar
libremente de la vida cultural y artística de la comunidad, así como a
beneficiarse del progreso científico y tecnológico de la nación”.
Artículo 58: “Identidad Cultural. Se reconoce el
derecho de las personas y de las comunidades a su identidad cultural de
acuerdo a sus valores, su lengua y sus costumbres”.
Artículo
66: “Protección a grupos étnicos. Guatemala está formada por diversos
grupos étnicos entre los que figura los grupos indígenas de ascendencia
maya. EI Estado reconoce, respeta y promueve sus formas de vida,
costumbres, tradiciones, formas de organización social, el uso del traje
indígena en hombre y mujeres, idiomas y dialectos”. - Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples
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