Conservação baseada em valores: patrimônio e direitos humanos no caso de Bento Rodrigues (MG)

Abstract

The article addresses the convergence between the fields of cultural heri-tage 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 conser-vation is fundamental, placing the human person at the center of pres-ervation. 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 Ro-drigues town case in Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil, the first locality af-fected 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 communi-ty bonds. Finally, the article highlights innovative preservation responses in the country proposed by ICOMOS/BRAZIL, based on the values-based conservation perspective.