As Yilin noted, the continued possession by former colonial powers of stolen cultural artifacts does not at first glance seem like a human rights violation. Nobody is being tortured or discriminated against. And yet, somehow the case of the Elgin Marbles, and the continued attempts to defend their possession by the British Museum, raises issues at the heart of the human rights debate. What do they tell you about what was wrong with colonialism? Or about national responsibilities -- not to mention national rights -- over many generations? What do they help us understand about collective shame and insult, and how might this be relevant to our understanding of certain classes of human rights?
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