A/HRC/30/53 right of everyone, individually or in association with others or within a community or group … to have access to their own cultural and linguistic heritage and to that of others.” 4 14. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides for the right of members of minorities to enjoy their own culture, practice their own religion and use their own language (art. 27), while the Convention on the Rights of the Child explicitly extends that right to persons of indigenous origin (art. 30) and requires that the education of the child be directed to “the development of respect for his or her cultural identity, language and values…” (art. 29). 15. At the regional level, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights guarantees the right of every individual to freely take part in the cultural life of his or her community (art. 17) and upholds the right of all peoples to their cultural development and the equal enjoyment of the common heritage of mankind (art. 22). The American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man proclaims the right of every person to take part in the cultural life of the community (art. 13). 16. Overall, international and regional human rights instruments guarantee the right to take part in cultural life, the right to enjoy one’s own culture, and the right to maintain, control, protect and develop one’s cultural heritage. B. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, cultural heritage and indigenous peoples 17. Cultural heritage is a central part of the mandate of UNESCO. The 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (the World Heritage Convention), addresses both cultural heritage (e.g. sacred sites, monuments or buildings) and natural heritage (e.g. biodiversity hotspots or outstanding geological formations). 18. More recent instruments provide greater recognition of the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples. The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001) protects the exchange of cultural heritage, calling specifically for respect for human dignity and commitment to the human rights of minorities and indigenous peoples as a key element to defend cultural diversity (art. 4). The 2003 Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage recognizes that “communities, in particular indigenous communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals, play an important role in the production, safeguarding, maintenance and re-creation of the intangible cultural heritage” (preamble). The Operational Directives for the implementation of the Convention emphasize that State activities may only be undertaken with the active involvement or participation of the concerned communities, groups and individuals. In particular, the free, prior and informed consent of the concerned communities is required to inscribe intangible cultural heritage elements on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding or the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and to include programmes, projects or activities in the register of best practices (paras. 1, 2, 7 and 101). 19. The 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions refers to the State obligation to pay “due attention” to creating an environment conducive to enabling indigenous peoples to create, produce, disseminate and access their cultural heritage through their cultural expressions (art. 7 (a)). 4 6 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 21 (2009), para. 50.