The UNESCO convention for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage: a critical analysis

This article presents a critical analysis of the actions carried out by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to safeguard what is considered to be ‘intangible cultural heritage of humanity’. These actions have been implemented under the aegis of its international convention adopted in 2003: the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. However, there have been significant difficulties in implementing the principles set out in this document and the objectives they were intended to achieve. We have examined the effectiveness of UNESCO’s policies and management by way of a qualitative and quantitative study of the functioning of the Convention’s management bodies and the intangible heritage inscribed on the Lists (number and distribution by lists, countries and economic and demographic weight). The main focus of our analysis is to assess the democratic functioning of the Convention and the universality of the intangible heritage inscribed by UNESCO.