A/HRC/17/38 C. Regional instruments and initiatives relating to cultural heritage 29. Some regional instruments for the preservation/safeguard of cultural heritage, such as the Charter for African Cultural Renaissance (2006), establish clear bridges between cultural rights, cultural diversity and cultural heritage. The Charter recognizes that all cultures emanate from societies, communities, groups and individuals and that any African cultural policy should, of necessity, enable peoples to evolve for increased responsibility in its development.28 Article 15, in particular, calls on States to “create an enabling environment to enhance the access and participation of all in culture, including marginalized and underprivileged communities.” The Charter echoes the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1981), according to which “All peoples shall have the right to their economic, social and cultural development with due regard to their freedom and identity and in the equal enjoyment of the common heritage of mankind.”29 30. The ASEAN Declaration on Cultural Heritage (2000) also refers to the human rights dimension of cultural heritage, recognizing that “…all cultural heritage, identities and expressions, cultural rights and freedoms derive from the dignity and worth inherent in the human person in creative interaction with other human persons and that the creative communities of human persons in ASEAN are the main agents and consequently should be the principal beneficiary of, and participate actively in the realization of these heritage, expressions and rights…”30 Furthermore, the Declaration refers to “the people’s right to their own culture”,31 the recognition of communal intellectual property rights, the need to ensure that “traditional communities have access, protection and rights of ownership to their own heritage”32 and calls for increased efforts to assist countries “to create the conditions under which individuals can participate in cultural heritage planning and development.”33 31. The European Faro Convention more openly takes the approach of cultural heritage rights. It recognizes that “every person has a right to engage with the cultural heritage of their choice… as an aspect of the right freely to participate in cultural life”.34 Stressing “the need to involve everyone in society in the ongoing process of defining and managing cultural heritage”, it contains references to the right to benefit from cultural heritage and to contribute towards its enrichment,35 the participation of everyone “in the process of identification, study, interpretation, protection, conservation and presentation of the cultural heritage”,36 and access.37 Of note, the Convention calls on States to “encourage reflection on the ethics and methods of presentation of the cultural heritage, as well as respect for diversity of interpretations” and to “establish processes for conciliation to deal equitably with situations where contradictory values are placed on the same cultural heritage by different communities”.38 32. The independent expert was interested to learn that the Secretariat of the Pacific Community has developed a Model Law for the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 10 Charter for African Cultural Renaissance, preamble. African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, art. 22.1. ASEAN Declaration on Cultural Heritage, preamble. Ibid., art. 3. Ibid., art. 9. Ibid., art. 14. Council of Europe Faro Convention, preamble. Ibid., art. 4 (a). Ibid., art. 12 (a) and (b). Ibid., arts. 12 (d) and 14. Ibid., arts. 7 (a) and (b).