Lhasa community, world heritage and human rights

This short report investigates aspects of change in the historic town of Lhasa, holy city in Tibetan Buddhism. The inscription of the historic kernel (core) of Lhasa as World Heritage (1994, extended 2000 and 2001) confirmed international and national recognition of Tibetan culture. Inscription resulted in increasing tourism but did not affect plans to transform the historic urban landscape of Lhasa. A dominant international perception from the early 1960s onwards has been that China's invasion of Tibet (1951) marginalised Tibetan traditional culture and way of life contravening basic human rights. This brief paper updates this view and shows that cultural continuity, cultural diversity and human rights remain key issues for the current management and future identity of Old Lhasa.