Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T12:47:00.742Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Saving Hasankeyf: Limits and Possibilities of International Human Rights Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2018

Bahar Aykan
Bahar Aykan*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey; Email: aykanbahar@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

This article explores the limits and possibilities of international human rights law in protecting cultural heritage from state-led destruction. It does so by focusing on two attempts by activists and non-governmental organizations to have the United Nations and the Council of Europe intervene to save the ancient city of Hasankeyf in Turkey’s southeast region, which will soon be flooded by the reservoir waters of the Ilısu Dam. Adopting a heritage rights focus, these grassroots initiatives have argued that Hasankeyf’s destruction would constitute a violation of human rights because it would deprive people of their right to participate in, and benefit from, cultural heritage. I suggest that, as powerful attempts to link cultural heritage and human rights, these cases demonstrate the need for more effective and legally binding international frameworks to protect heritage rights as an aspect of human rights.

Keywords

heritage rightshuman rightsinternational human rights lawTurkeyHasankeyf
Type
Article
Information
International Journal of Cultural Property , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , February 2018 , pp. 11 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © International Cultural Property Society 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ahunbay, Zeynep. 2008. “Hasankeyf, a Site Threatened by the Ilısu Dam Project.” In Heritage at Risk: ICOMOS World Report 2006–2007 on Monuments and Sites in Danger, edited by Petzet, M. and Ziesemer, J., 156–57. Altenburg: E. Reinhold Verlag.Google Scholar
Ahunbay, Zeynep, and Balkız, Özge. 2009. “Outstanding Universal Value of Hasankeyf and the Tigris Valley.” Doğa Derneği. http://www.dogadernegi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Outstanding-universal-value-of-hasankeyf-and-the-tigris-valley.pdf (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
Anico, Marta, and Peralta, Elsa, eds. 2009. Heritage and Identity: Engagement and Demission in the Contemporary World. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ashworth, G. J., Graham, Brian, and Tunbridge, J. E.. 2007. Pluralising Pasts: Heritage, Identity and Place in Multicultural Societies. London: Pluto Press.Google Scholar
Atakuman, Çiğdem. 2010. “Value of Heritage in Turkey: History and Politics of Turkey’s World Heritage Nominations.” Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 23, no. 1: 107–131.Google Scholar
Blake, Janet. 2009. “UNESCO’s 2003 Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Implications of Community Involvement in ‘Safeguarding.’” In Intangible Heritage, edited by Smith, L. and Akagawa, N., 45–73. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Blake, Janet. 2011. “Taking a Human Rights Approach to Cultural Heritage Protection.” Heritage and Society 4, no. 2: 199–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bosshard, Peter. 1999. “A Test Case of International Policy Coherence: A Case Study of the Ilisu Hydropower Project (Turkey).” https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmtrdind/200/200ap07.htm (accessed 8 April 2017).Google Scholar
Brown, Michael F. 2005. “Heritage Trouble: Recent Work on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Property.” International Journal of Cultural Property 12, no. 1: 40–61.Google Scholar
Çevik, Adnan. 2012. “Hasankeyf: The Capital of Civilizations.” Doğa Derneği. http://www.dogadernegi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Hasankeyf-The-Capital-of-Civilizations.pdf (accessed 8 April 2017).Google Scholar
CESCR. 2009. “Implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Initial Reports Submitted by States Parties under Articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant, Turkey,” Doc. E/C.12/TUR/1, http://www.refworld.org/docid/4d8b2f072.html (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
CESCR. 2010. “Replies by the Government of Turkey to the List of Issues.” Doc. E/C.12/TUR/Q/1. http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2fTUR%2fQ%2f1%2fADD.1&Lang=en (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
CESCR. 2011a. “Comments by the Government of Turkey on the Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.” Doc. E/C.12/TUR/CO/1. http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2fTUR%2fCO%2f1%2fADD.1&Lang=en (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
CESCR. 2011b. “Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Turkey.” Doc. E/C.12/TUR/CO/1. http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2fTUR%2fCO%2f1&Lang=en (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
CESCR. 2011c. “Forty-Sixth Session Summary Record of the Fourth Meeting.” Doc. E/C.12/2011/SR.4. http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2f2011%2fSR.4&Lang=en (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
CESCR. 2011d. “Forty-Sixth Session Summary Record of the Fifth Meeting.” Doc. E/C.12/2011/SR.5. http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2fC.12%2f2011%2fSR.5&Lang=en (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
CESCR. 2012. “List of Issues to Be Taken Up in Connection with the Consideration of the Initial Report of Turkey.” Doc. CCPR/C/TUR/1, 4 May. http://www.refworld.org/docid/506437672.html (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
CounterCurrent. 2011. “Dam Construction in Turkey and Its Impact on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights.” http://www.gegenstroemung.org/drupal/sites/default/files/CESCR_Parallel%20report%20by%20CounterCurrent%20on%20Turkish%20dams_2011-03-15.pdf (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
Eberlein, Christine, Drillisch, Heike, Ayboga, Ercan, and Wenidoppler, Thomas. 2010. “The Ilisu Dam in Turkey and the Role of Export Credit Agencies and NGO Networks.” Water Alternatives 3, no. 2: 291–312.Google Scholar
ECtHR. 2011. “Cultural Rights in the Case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.” Research Division. http://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Research_report_cultural_rights_ENG.pdf (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
ECtHR. 2016. Deuxième Section Décision Requête no 6080/06. http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{“fulltext”:[“ahunbay”],”documentcollectionid2”:[“DECGRANDCHAMBER”,”ADMISSIBILITY”,”ADMISSIBILITYCOM”],”itemid”:[“001-165187”]} https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{“appno”:[“6080/06”],”itemid”:[“001-165187”]} (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
Ekern, Stener, Logan, William, Sauge, Birgitte, and Sinding-Larsen, Amund, eds. 2015a. World Heritage Management and Human Rights. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ekern, Stener, Logan, William, Sauge, Birgitte, and Sinding-Larsen, Amund. 2015b. “Human Rights and World Heritage: Preserving Our Common Dignity through Rights-Based Approaches to Site Management.” In World Heritage Management and Human Rights, edited by Ekern, S., Logan, W., Sauge, B., and Sinding-Larsen, A., 1–13. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Graham, Brian, and Howard, Peter, eds. 2008. The Ashgate Research Companion to Heritage and Identity. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.Google Scholar
Hann, C. M., ed. 1998. Property Relations: Renewing the Anthropological Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Harrison, Simon. 1999. “Identity as a Scarce Resource.” Social Anthropology 7, no. 3: 239–51.Google Scholar
Hildyard, Nicholas, Tricarico, Antonio, Eberhardt, Sally, Drillisch, Heike, and Norlen, Douglas. 2000. “The Ilisu Dam, the World Commission on Dams and Export Credit Reform.” Corner House. http://www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/resource/ilisu-dam-world-commission-dams-and-export-credit-reform (accessed 8 April 2017).Google Scholar
Hirsch, Eric, and Strathern, Marilyn, eds. 2004. Transactions and Creations: Property Debates and the Stimulus of Melanesia. New York: Berghahn Books.Google Scholar
Hodder, Ian. 2010. “Cultural Heritage Rights: From Ownership and Descent to Justice and Well-being.” Anthropological Quarterly 83, no. 4: 861–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Humphrey, Caroline, and Verdery, Katherine. 2004. “Introduction: Raising Questions about Property.” In Property in Question: Value Transformation in the Global Economy, edited by Verdery, K. and Humphrey, C., 1–28. Oxford: Berg.Google Scholar
Ignatieff, Michael. 2001. “Human Rights as Politics.” In Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry, edited by Gutmann, A., 3–52. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive and CounterCurrent. 2010. “Proposed Questions to the Government of the Republic of Turkey Regarding Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the Population Affected by Large Dams, Notably the Ilisu Hydropower Plant.” http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CESCR/Shared%20Documents/TUR/INT_CESCR_NGO_TUR_44_10183_E.pdf (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
Jakubowski, Andrzej, ed. 2016. Cultural Rights as Collective Rights: An International Law Perspective. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Langfield, Michele, Logan, William, and Craith, Máiréad Nic, eds. 2010. Cultural Diversity, Heritage and Human Rights: Intersections in Theory and Practice. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Logan, William S. 2007. “Closing Pandora’s Box: Human Rights Conundrums in Cultural Heritage Protection.” In Cultural Heritage and Human Rights, edited by Silverman, H. and Ruggles, D. F., 33–52. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Logan, William S. 2014. “Heritage Rights: Avoidance and Reinforcement.” Heritage and Society 7, no. 2: 156–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Logan, William. 2016. “Collective Cultural Rights in Asia: Recognition and Enforcement.” In Cultural Rights as Collective Rights: An International Law Perspective, edited by Jakubowski, A., 180–203. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Marko, Joseph. 2008. “Constitutional Recognition of Ethnic Difference: Towards an Emerging European Minimum Standard?” In The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: A Useful Pan-European Instrument?, edited by Verstichel, A., Alen, A., De Witte, B., and Lemmens, P., 19–32. Antwerpen: Intersentia.Google Scholar
Meskell, Lynn. 2010. “Human Rights and Heritage Ethics.” Anthropological Quarterly 83, no. 4: 839–60.Google Scholar
Öktem, Kerem. 2002. “When Dams Are Built on Shaky Grounds: Policy Choice and Social Performance of Hydro-Project Based Development in Turkey.” Erdkunde 56, no. 3: 310–25.Google Scholar
Philp, Janette. 2010. “The Political Appropriation of Burma’s Cultural Heritage and Its Implications for Human Rights.” In Cultural Diversity, Heritage and Human Rights: Intersections in Theory and Practice, edited by Langfield, M., Logan, W., and Nic Craith, M., 83–100. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Rowlands, Michael. 2004. “Cultural Rights and Wrongs: Uses of the Concept of Property.” In Property in Question: Value Transformation in the Global Economy, edited by Verdery, K. and Humphrey, C., 207–26. Oxford: Berg.Google Scholar
Santosuosso, Amedeo. 2009. “Reasonableness in Biolaw: Is It Necessary?” In Reasonableness and Law, edited by Bongiovanni, G., Sartor, G., and Valentini, C., 351–62. London: Springer.Google Scholar
Scheumann, Waltina. 2008. “How Global Norms for Large Dams Reach Decision-Makers.” In Water Politics and Development Cooperation: Local Power Plays and Global Governance, edited by Scheumann, W., Neubert, S., and Kipping, M., 55–80. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Shoup, Daniel. 2006. “Can Archeology Build a Dam? Sites and Politics in Turkey’s Southeast Anatolia Project.” Journal of Mediterranean Archeology 19, no. 2: 231–58.Google Scholar
Silverman, Helaine, and Fairchild Ruggles, D., eds. 2007a. Cultural Heritage and Human Rights. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silverman, Helaine, and Fairchild Ruggles, D., eds. 2007b. “Cultural Heritage and Human Rights.” In Cultural Heritage and Human Rights, edited by Silverman, H. and Ruggles, D. F., 3–22. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinding-Larsen, Amund. 2015. “Lhasa Community, World Heritage and Human Rights.” In World Heritage Management and Human Rights, edited by Ekern, S., Logan, W., Sauge, B., and Sinding-Larsen, A., 85–94. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Smith, Laurajane. 2006. Uses of Heritage. Abingdon: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Starr, Fiona. 2013. Corporate Responsibility for Cultural Heritage: Conservation, Sustainable Development, and Corporate Reputation. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Tavani, Claudia. 2012. Collective Rights and the Cultural Identity of the Roma: A Case Study of Italy. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.Google Scholar
Topal, Tamer, and Kaya, Yavuz. 2016. “Assessment of Deterioration and Collapse Mechanisms of Dolomitic Limestone at Hasankeyf Antique City before and after Reservoir Impounding (Turkey).” Environmental Earth Sciences 75: 131.Google Scholar
UNESCO. 2015. “Policy for the Integration of a Sustainable Development Perspective into the Processes of the World Heritage Convention.” Doc WHC-15/20.GA/INF.13. http://whc.unesco.org/document/139146 (accessed 7 April 2017).Google Scholar
Warner, Jeroen. 2012. “The Struggle over Turkey’s Ilısu Dam: Domestic and International Security Linkages.” International Environmental Agreements 12: 231–50.Google Scholar
Ween, Gro B. 2015. “World Heritage and Indigenous Rights: Norwegian Examples.” In World Heritage Management and Human Rights, edited by Ekern, S., Logan, W., Sauge, B., and Sinding-Larsen, A., 45–58. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Weiner, Annette B. 1992. Inalienable Possessions: The Paradox of Keeping-While-Giving. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Verdery, Katherine, and Humphrey, Caroline, eds. 2004. Property in Question: Value Transformation in the Global Economy. Oxford: Berg.Google Scholar
Vrdoljak, Ana Filipa. 2006. International Law, Museums and the Return of Cultural Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Zalasińska, Katarzyna, and Piotrowska, Katarzyna. 2015. “Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Cultural Landscape.” In World Heritage Management and Human Rights, edited by Ekern, S., Logan, W., Sauge, B., and Sinding-Larsen, A., 95–103. London: Routledge.Google Scholar