Indigenous peoples, intangible cultural heritage and participation in the United Nations

This chapter focuses on the participation of indigenous peoples in multilateral initiatives to protect cultural heritage, with specific reference to intangible heritage. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the United Nations specialist agency in the field of culture. World Intellectual Property Organization&s;s (WIPO) Member States have emphasized the need to facilitate and strengthen the participation of observers in the Intergovernmental Committee&s;s work. The Convention on Biological Diversity adopted under the auspices of United Nations Environmental Program predates the Intangible Heritage Convention and the current WIPO initiatives. UNESCO&s;s normative work on intangible heritage started in 1973 with a Bolivian proposal for a protocol to protect folklore to be attached to the Universal Copyright Convention. The Intangible Heritage Convention, its Operational Directives and the reports of related committees have consistently reaffirmed the importance of ensuring that the implementation of the treaty conform with international human rights norms, especially of vulnerable groups.