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Refugee Protection through Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Home Country and Refugee Journey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2024

Sherine Al Shallah Open the ORCID record for Sherine Al Shallah [Opens in a new window]
Sherine Al Shallah*
Affiliation:
Higher Degree Research student at the University of New South Wales, and Affiliate of the Andrew and Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law
*
Email: s.alshallah@unsw.edu.au
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Abstract

The legal literature on refugee cultural heritage is limited, and cultural rights are part of the law that appropriately addresses refugee cultural heritage issues. Cultural heritage is integral to the definition of refugees; refugee protection must include safeguarding refugee cultural heritage.1 This Article reviews international law around refugees’ intangible cultural heritage, which incorporates refugee relationships with their tangible cultural heritage.2 It also frames the discussion around refugee intangible cultural heritage in a holistic paradigm that consolidates “refugee home heritage” (refugee intangible cultural heritage of home country) and “refuge heritage” (refugee intangible cultural heritage of refugee journey from persecution or conflict to resettlement or return). The Article finds that, whereas the international law framework lays the groundwork for such a holistic paradigm, international and national laws and state policy approaches must be reformed to achieve refugee protection in line with international obligations.

Keywords

Refugee cultural heritageintangible cultural heritagerefugee protectionrefugee definitionauthorized heritage discoursestatelessnessrefugee home heritagerefugee heritagerefugee camprefuge heritage

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Type
Article
Information
International Journal of Cultural Property , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , August 2023 , pp. 280 - 297
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of International Cultural Property Society

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