ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the notion of cultural rights. Cultural rights are mentioned in several international human rights covenants and declarations but these do not provide a detailed conception of what cultural rights are. It is argued that the best way to protect cultural groups is by conceiving of cultural rights as primarily individual rights and using this determination as the key to balancing between the interests of individuals and groups when working to protect culture. Cultural rights occupy an awkward position in the existing scholarship on human rights, mainly because of their role in protecting cultural groups from within the realm of human rights, which are generally believed to be rights that protect individuals. Finally, cultural rights as part of the larger body of human rights cannot protect culture by endangering other human rights. Cultural groups can be used as a mechanism of control, especially when they are politicized.
