Cultural diversity used to be considered as an obstacle to development, democracy and human rights. It is now rightly understood as an essential means of achieving them. But cultural diversity is not a value in itself and it cannot encompass every one of its different practices or permit any and every kind of relativism. Cultural diversity is created by human beings and has to remain a tool in seeking the multiple facets of human dignity. Diversity and human rights afford each other mutual protection. Cultural rights are central to this protection, as they guarantee the rights and freedoms of every individual to engage in cultural activities and have access to all the resources they need in their life-long and never-completed quest for self-identification. Finding a legitimate balance between universality and cultural rights is a delicate matter: how can we guarantee the right to criticize, and at the same time ensure that cultural heritage, traditions and lifestyles are treated with due respect?