Human Rights, Interculturality and Cultural Diplomacy

a Comparative Study

Abstract

Through a predominantly bibliographical study on the correlation between human rights, intercultural and cultural diplomacy, the main purpose of this paper is to present the cultural diplomacy as an instrument to promote intercultural dialogue among people. The choice of theme stemmed from the urgent need for the promotion and effective protection of human rights without, however, disregarding the cultural specificities of each State. It seeks to overcome the polemic about the dichotomy "universalism vs. cultural relativism", proposing instead the interculturality. Given that culture should not be used as a hindrance to the preponderance of human rights, it cannot be accepted as an imposition of values. In this way, cultural diplomacy represents an ideal instrument for the realization of this intercultural dialogue in order to reach a confluence of arrival, not departure. Cultural diplomacy, in turn, is capable of promoting mutual understanding, trust and respect among people and thus building a favorable international engagement among States and a human rights dialogue based on respect and, above all, on the cultural diversity. It is argued here that interculturality, systematized in diatopic hermeneutics, respect for and appreciation of cultural diversity, is the best way to propagate human rights without causing secondary and inopportune conflicts, and cultural diplomacy is an excellent instrument to achieve this.