Values-Based Conservation: heritage and human rights in the Bento Rodrigues case (Brazil)

Abstract

The article addresses the convergence between the fields of cultural heritage and human rights, highlighting internal and external transformations that enabled this convergence. In the context of cultural heritage, the shift from a material-based conservation perspective to a values-based conservation is fundamental, placing the human person at the center of preservation. In the case of human rights, this convergence is seen through the recognition of the need to adequately conceptualize cultural rights. Going beyond recurring themes at the intersections of human rights and heritage, this article focuses on unsustainable development as a source of human rights violations, causing harm to traditional communities and socio-environmental tragedies. As a case study, it discusses the Bento Rodrigues case in Mariana, Minas Gerais, the first locality affected by the rupture of the Fundão Dam, which was almost completely devastated, reducing 180 houses to only 22 standing. The population, present in the area for three hundred years, was hastily transferred to Mariana, resulting in the breakdown of established family and community bonds. Finally, the article highlights innovative preservation responses in the country proposed by ICOMOS/BRAZIL, based on the values-based conservation perspective.