A/HRC/17/38 Expressions of Culture, establishing a range of statutory rights for traditional owners of traditional knowledge and expressions of culture, in particular the requirement that their prior and informed consent be obtained before their traditional knowledge or expressions of culture are used for a non-customary use.39 D. Human rights instruments 33. In international human rights treaties, a number of provisions constitute a legal basis of a right of access to and enjoyment of cultural heritage. 1. The right to take part in cultural life 34. One of the most explicit provisions in relation to access to and enjoyment of cultural heritage is article 15(1)(a) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which obliges States to recognize the right of everyone to take part in cultural life. In its general comment No. 21, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stressed that “...in many instances, the obligations to respect and to protect freedoms, cultural heritage and diversity are interconnected”. The Committee makes it clear that the obligation to respect the right to take part in cultural life “…includes the adoption of specific measures aimed at achieving respect for the 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.”40 The right to participate in cultural life implies that individuals and communities have access to and enjoy cultural heritages that are meaningful to them, and that their freedom to continuously (re)create cultural heritage and transmit it to future generations should be protected. 35. The Committee especially emphasized that: “…States must respect free access by minorities to their own culture, heritage and other forms of expression, as well as the free exercise of their cultural identity and practices. States parties must also respect the rights of indigenous peoples to their culture and heritage and to maintain and strengthen their spiritual relationship with their ancestral lands and other natural resources traditionally owned, occupied or used by them, and indispensable to their cultural life.”41 36. It also considered as a core obligation the obligation of States to “allow and encourage the participation of persons belonging to minority groups, indigenous peoples or to other communities in the design and implementation of laws and policies that affect them. In particular, States parties should obtain their free and informed prior consent when the preservation of their cultural resources, especially those associated with their way of life and cultural expression, are at risk.”42 2. The right to enjoy one’s own culture 37. Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides for the right of members of minorities to enjoy their own culture, practice their own religion and use their own language. A similar provision is found is article 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which applies to both minority and indigenous children. These provisions do not mention cultural heritage specifically, however, people cannot enjoy culture without accessing and enjoying cultural heritage. 39 40 41 42 Pacific Forum, Model Law for the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Expressions of Culture, in particular arts. 7 and 14. General comment No. 21 (2009), para. 50. Ibid., para. 49 (d). Ibid., para. 55 (e). 11