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Text: Christian ZeierIssue: 04/2020

Karima Bennoune is the UN’s special rapporteur in the field of cultural rights. In this interview she talks about the significance of the arts and culture for development cooperation and countering extremism.

Let's start with a provocative question: aren't art and culture luxuries in a society?

The clear answer to that is no. Art and culture are very valuable in their own right. They go to the heart of what defines us as humans – to our perceptions of ourselves and our understanding of the world. Besides their intrinsic value they also have an instrumental value because they can help to reinforce other human rights such as the right to education or the right to freedom of expression.

Are cultural rights valued in that way?

Unfortunately not. Far too often they are regarded as secondary or subsidiary rights although they have an equal status in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There is too little funding available for the cultural sector globally and cultural rights defenders are often not visible enough. This is why it's so important to achieve UNESCO's target of 1% of expenditure on culture.

What are cultural rights?

The United Nations states that cultural rights protect "the rights for each person, individually and in community with others, as well as groups of people, to develop and express their humanity, their world view and the meanings they give to their existence and their development through, inter alia, values, beliefs, convictions, languages, knowledge and the arts, institutions and ways of life." Cultural rights also protect "access to cultural heritage and resources that allow such identification and development processes to take place."
www.ohchr.org (Cultural Rights)

Why is it that art and culture are not sufficiently valued?

I suppose that goes back to your first question, to the perception of art and culture as something less fundamental than other rights. But I have spoken to people in very vulnerable situations for whom art and culture were a lifeline, a source of resilience.

Could you give an example?

Before I became special rapporteur, I once interviewed a Somali playwright and director of an orchestra. He told me how he had to flee in the 90s and how he kept art and culture alive in a Kenyan refugee camp because that was his link to home and potentially to a better future. He received death threats for his radio plays – and still carried on. Because art was not optional for him; it gave him hope and so it was almost as important as the food he received.

What role do cultural rights play in development cooperation?

My understanding of sustainable development is that it is a holistic approach. Since culture is an integral part of our human experience, I find it difficult to imagine a concept of development in which art and culture do not play a role. Why do we think that someone faced with existential challenges such as hunger and unemployment does not have the same right to art and culture as any other person?

Is there even a clear definition of art and culture?

We decided on a comprehensive definition. It includes what was earlier referred to as high culture and popular culture, but also encompasses diverse artistic and cultural practices, languages, world views, traditions and cultural heritage. Naturally, given that it is such a wide field, we have to pick strategic priorities, for instance discrimination or equal opportunities to participate in cultural life.

"art was not optional for him; it gave him hope and so it was almost as important as the food he received.»

What do you consider are the biggest challenges for cultural rights?

I could name a thousand challenges, but climate change is, quite literally, the biggest threat. Take the island nation of Tuvalu. There is a library there, bang on the shore, which contains incredibly important documents about the culture and history of the country. The chief librarian has desperately been trying to find out what to do about the rising sea level. For me this means that we must examine the negative impact climate change has on culture and cultural rights. We must also study how culture and traditional knowledge can help us respond to climate change in a way that respects human rights.

Has your tenure so far as special rapporteur made you feel more optimistic or pessimistic?

There are plenty of reasons to be pessimistic. Look at all the cultural rights defenders sitting in jail, all the artists who are in danger, who are forced to flee or who lose their lives. But there are also several reasons to be optimistic. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said last year that more and more people across the world are defending cultural rights and recognising how important they are for protecting our diversity. I was thrilled. It felt as if cultural rights had finally arrived.

In your personal capacity you have written Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here, a book about extremism and fundamentalism. Can culture be an element in the fight against extremism?

Absolutely. I was surprised at how people who are working to combat extremism are involved in the culture sector. Art and culture are a wonderful way of countering extremist and fundamentalist narratives. They create a plurality of expressions, alternatives for young people and the space to express grievances in a positive way. That is the exact opposite of the fundamentalist and extremist world view. We often hear, "Oh, we can't fund the arts and culture because we are busy with the fight against extremism." My reply to that is that these things go hand in hand.

KARIMA BENNOUNE was appointed UN special rapporteur in the field of cultural rights in 2015. She grew up in Algeria and in the United States and is professor of law at the University of California Davis School of Law. Bennoune has worked globally in the field of human rights for over 20 years, carrying out field missions, election observation and research.  She received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize in 2014 for her book Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here. The book is based on about 300 interviews with people from 30 countries and tells the story of people of Muslim origin who decide to oppose extremism.

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