A/HRC/37/55
deceased members of the Stolen Generations in the custodianship of the land and facilitated
a type of restorative justice. 42 However, the limitations of such actions must also be
recognized, as this symbolic action reportedly did not change some other fundamental
aspects of policy vis-à-vis indigenous rights, and follow-up is urgently needed.
59.
States must consider what kind of public spaces should be made available for
remembering past violations of human rights and allowing for a plurality of views to be
heard, including through artistic and cultural expression. Human rights norms and
principles, including those in the field of cultural rights, should guide all decisions in this
field to ensure the credibility of the process as a foundation for more inclusive, peaceful
and just societies.
4.
Imagining and substantiating new futures
60.
The notion of reconciliation includes the assumption that at some point in a trustbuilding process, former adversaries come together to imagine and give substance to new
futures. Imagination is required to contemplate acceptable alternatives and construct road
maps of realistic paths pointing to resolution. 43 Enactments or embodiments of these
alternatives — through ritual, art-making and performance — can offer evidence of what
might be possible, long before new constitutions can be written, new laws enacted or new
policies adopted.
61.
By the late twentieth century, in Yakima Valley, Washington State, United States, a
number of cultural groups which had become alienated from each other were invited on the
occasion of the millennium to create, together with the Chinese-American visual artist
Wen-ti Tsen, an installation to “reflect on the last thousand years and to view the next
thousand”. The “sculptural plaza” that was created through the project incorporated the
historical narratives, grievances and contributions of the region’s various cultural groups
and has continued since to be used as a place of gathering by all.
62.
When trust between individuals and groups and in society’s capacity to protect
human rights and the rule of law has been broken by violence and oppression, the processes
of rebuilding trust are delicate and multifaceted. They require years, and sometimes
decades or centuries. Creative, artistic and cultural forms and processes — such as music,
dance, theatre, literature, visual arts, urban design and ritual — offer opportunities to
exercise cultural rights as a way to address past human rights violations and facilitate the
development of the capacities necessary for relationships of trust and trustworthiness to
(re)emerge.
V. Exploring key questions
63.
For actions in the field of culture to contribute to creating, developing and
maintaining peaceful and inclusive societies in which all human rights can find fuller
realization, those involved, including artists, cultural workers and other stakeholders such
as institutions and local populations, need to be recognized and legitimized. They must also
be provided with the conditions necessary to exercise their right to take part in and
contribute, through these actions in the field of culture, to shaping the societies they live in.
It is essential that States respect and ensure their human rights, including their cultural
rights.
A.
Recognizing the roles of the principal stakeholders
64.
Artists and cultural workers who seek to address social challenges of discrimination,
exclusion, human rights violations and violence through the exercise of their cultural rights
42
43
P. Walker, “Creating a new story: ritual, ceremony and conflict transformation between indigenous
and settler peoples”, in Acting Together.
C. Mitchell, “Conflict, change and conflict resolution”, in B. Austin, M. Fischer and H. Giessmann,
eds., Advancing Conflict Transformation: The Berghof Handbook II (Budrich, 2011), p. 19.
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