Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Protection of Refugees and Refugee Camps

Bibliographic Data

ID12212652
AuthorsAlice Neikirk (0000-0002-6961-1913, University of Newcastle School of Law and Justice , Newcastle 2300, Australia, corresponding author), Ray Nickson (0000-0002-3427-5761, University of Newcastle School of Law and Justice , Newcastle 2300, Australia), Shekhar Rijal (Independent Researcher, USA)
Year2023
Volume37
Issue1
Pages117-133
Publication date2023-12-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Refugee Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0951-6328 • E-ISSN: 1471-6925
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/jrs/fead092
OpenAlexW4390063122
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited29

The Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention was established to recognize and protect non-material aspects of culture. Through an analysis of the experience of Bhutanese refugees, we argue that the Convention could be used to aid, protect, and acknowledge refugees in the absence of other mechanisms. Bhutanese refugees began living in camps in 1991, and a population remains in camps without formal international or national support. During this residency, the culture and identity of the Bhutanese refugees were transformed. As sites of cultural meaning and transformation for the refugees, the camps should be protected. Unfortunately, the current state-centric process for nominating intangible cultural heritage for protection excludes stateless and minority groups, such as refugees. Consequently, the nomination process should be amended to allow for bottom-up, community-led nominations

Convention · Cultural heritage · Intangible cultural heritage · Nomination · Political science · Population · Refugee · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Law

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