Impediments to a human rights-based approach to heritage conservation: the case of Bagan, Myanmar

A human rights-based approach to heritage conservation, while promising for addressing social justice and sustainability, faces significant conceptual, practical, and political challenges when applied to UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Bagan, Myanmar. This study identifies key impediments at local, national, and regional levels, including the ambiguous interpretation of cultural rights, conflicts between rights, resistance to human rights language, and insufficient capacity to hold violators accountable. These findings underscore that the effectiveness of such an approach is highly context-dependent, limiting its broader applicability despite its potential benefits.

Kraak, A. L. (2015). Impediments to a human rights-based approach to heritage conservation: the case of Bagan, Myanmar. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 23(4), 433–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2015.1066782