This book identifies and defines the human rights that are cultural, and directly relate to the arts, creative and heritage sectors. It describes how cultural rights operate within the human rights system of international law and institutions, and explains the various ways in which these rights are adopted and operate in our cultural sectors by public policymakers. The aim of the book is to explain how the right to culture is one of the most significant issues facing all societies, particularly in an era of digital technology, demographic change and globalisation. This book is characterised by a concise explanation of historical background, the UN system and work of UNESCO, a critical analysis of key concepts (such as creative freedom, censorship and diversity), and a discussion of morality and ethics. It is of interest to researchers and the higher education sector, arts and cultural managers, producers, policymakers, heritage, museums and community leadership.

Jonathan Vickery is Reader and a former Director of the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies at the University of Warwick, UK. He is a specialist in graduate pedagogy and international masters education. He has led groups and events in many public cultural and policy research projects. He has published widely on cultural politics, cultural policy and public arts. His current research interests in global cultural policy and human rights, political devolution and cultural policy. He is co-Editor in Chief of The Journal of Law, Social Justice and Global Development, and his last publication relating to cultural rights was Vickery, MacDonald, Cull (eds.) Understanding Cultural Diplomacy and International Cultural Relations, (Edward Elgar, 2025).