Aligning interculturalism with international human rights law: 'Living Together' without assimilation

On the basis of the perceived failure of multiculturalism, a shift towards ‘interculturalism’ has been advocated by politicians in Western Europe and international organisations including UNESCO and the Council of Europe. While seemingly benign from a human rights perspective, critics of interculturalism warn that in practice this shift can be used to justify the adoption of assimilationist policies. Forced or unwanted assimilation violates the rights of persons belonging to minorities. Consequently, this article explores the compatibility of interculturalism with international human rights law. It argues that when adopted within a minority rights (multiculturalist) framework, such as the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, interculturalism is broadly compatible with human rights standards. However, when adopted outside this framework, for example, within the European Court on Human Rights’ jurisprudence, interculturalist concepts can easily be used to legitimize the violation of the rights of persons belonging to minorities.