International Framework

Abstract

The chapter discusses international institutional responses to safeguarding intangible heritage. At the international level, the foremost initiative is the specific UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003), which not only offers the most sophisticated legal definition of intangible cultural heritage, but also creates a listing mechanism aimed at drawing attention to ICH and the need for its safeguarding. While the system is imperfect in many instances, as it gives too much authority for States to determine what intangible heritage is worth protecting (sometimes at the expense of national cultural minorities), the system has already been reformed since its creation, and the reforms have taken decisive steps towards more community inclusion. The chapter also discusses initiatives within the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

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