Protection and preservation of traditional cultural expressions \& traditional knowledge in handicraft industry: advocating the need for a global cultural policy framework*

To protect cultural heritage, advance sustainable lives and economic growth, and promote environmental sustainability, traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCE) in the handicraft industry must be protected. Additionally, the handicraft trade encourages cross-cultural dialogue and mutual respect, highlighting the importance of each community’s distinctive contributions to the world’s cultural heritage. The preservation of the cultural legacy and sustainable lifestyles of indigenous people become more important as the cross-border interchange of commodities and ideas grows. This study will focus exclusively on qualitative doctrinal analysis, examining handicrafts from various regions worldwide. It will employ a systematic approach to analyze relevant legal documents, legislation, case laws, and academic literature. The paper highlights the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ (UNDRIP) initiatives related to protecting TK and TCE within the framework of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) policy and action on tangible and intangible cultural heritage. It further focuses on the limits of the present intellectual property systems in addressing the particular difficulties encountered by indigenous communities and craftspeople, especially in India. It promotes the need for a thorough global framework for a cultural policy that acknowledges these groups’ collective rights to their TCE and TK and protects them from commercially motivated actors in the handicraft industry. The paper also explores the function of domestic, regional, and global legal frameworks in safeguarding TCE and TK, highlighting instances of effective sui generis systems and their potential advantages. The article concludes by advocating a comprehensive and inclusive global framework for cultural policy in order to successfully protect TCE and TK in the handicraft industry.