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Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief: A Deskbook pp 63–83Cite as

The Nature and Minimum Standards of Freedom of Religion or Belief

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Abstract

This article provides an overview of the nature and scope of the minimum standards for freedom of religion or belief in the international community, as regulated by the principal international norms. Although the international community had already addressed racial discrimination, racial hatred, and other human rights issues, the United Nations did not address racial and religious discrimination and intolerance until the early sixties, following a series of anti-Semitic outbreaks. The United Nations separated the issues and promptly drafted a declaration and convention against racial discrimination. However, the United Nations did not draft a declaration regarding religion and belief until 1981. Moreover, it does not appear the United Nations will draft a convention regarding religion and belief any time soon, for reasons discussed hereafter.1

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Reference

  1. See part IV.C.4. Scholarly literature regarding human rights was criticized for similarly failing to sufficiently address religion, belief, and related issues. This deficiency has been remedied in recent years. Today, there are a fair number of books and articles available that address religion and beliefs and the minimum standards and norms that prevail in the area. See Malcolm D. Evans, Religious Liberty and International Law in Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); Natan Lerner, Religion, Beliefs and International Human Rights (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2000); Ted Stahnke and J. Paul Martin, eds., Religion and Human Rights: Basic Documents (New York: Columbia University, 1998); Johan D. van der Vyver and John Witte Jr., eds., Religious Human Rights in Global Perspective: Legal Perspectives (Boston: Martinus Nijhoff, 1996 ); Bahiyyih G. Tahzib, Freedom of Religion or Belief Ensuring Effective International Legal Protection ( Boston: Martinus Nijhoff, 1996 ).

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  3. See US Department of State, Annual Report on International Religious Freedom (1999); International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, Public Law No. 105–292, 112 Stat. 2787 (codified at 22 USC ¡ì 6401 [1998]).

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  4. Problems exist with regard to new religious movements and sects, an issue that sparked emotional debates in many countries and led some to enact special provisions. The United Nations Rapporteur on Religious Freedom has dealt with this subject in his recent reports. See the reports submitted by Abdelfattah Amor to the Commission on Human Rights since his appointment in 1987, the last of which is, before this writing, UN Doc. E/CN.4/58 (1999). On June 22, 1999, the Council of Europe adopted the Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1412 (1999) on the illegal activities of sects. The Council considered it “undesirable” to enact major legislation on sects and reaffirmed its commitment to freedom of conscience and religion (ibid.).

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  7. At this stage (the sixteenth century) the abandonment of this traditional rule¡ªthat the sovereign’s religion should be the religion of everyone under his jurisdiction¡ªdid not imply the establishment of a general freedom of religion.

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  82. See Lerner, Group Rights and Discrimination in International Law,85. For the reasons why the United Nations treated religious issues differently than other human rights issues, see also Antonio Cassese, “The General Assembly: Historical Perspective 1945–1989,” in The United Nations and Human Rights,37.

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  83. See Lerner, Group Rights and Discrimination in International Law, 89.

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  84. See ibid.

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  85. Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language (1971) defines “intolerant” as “refusing to allow others the free enjoyment of their opinions or worship ” Elizabeth Odio Benito in Study of the Current Dimensions of the Problems of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/26 (1987), 3, states that manifestations of intolerance, often extending far beyond discrimination, include stirring up hatred against or even persecuting individuals or groups of a different religion or belief.

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  86. See Lillich, Human Rights Instruments, 490.2.

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  90. See ibid., 490.2. On several occasions, the Human Rights Committee and the European Court on Human Rights dealt with the scope of permissible limitations. The European Court clarified the meaning of “morals” in Handyside v. UK, 1 EHRR 737 (ECtHR 24, 7 December 1976).

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  91. See Lillich, Human Rights Instruments, 490.3–490.4.

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  92. See ibid. However, rights considered but omitted include the rights to observe dietary practices, to make pilgrimages, and not to be coerced to take an oath of a religious nature.

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  93. See Council of Europe, Human Rights in International Law (1995), 403 (emphasizing the rights of religious communities in Principle 16.4); see also W. Cole Durham, Jr., Freedom of Religion or Belief Laws Affecting the Structuring of Religious Communities (Warsaw: Organization on Security and Co-operation in Europe, 1999).

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  94. Not being a treaty, the 1981 Declaration did not establish such a mechanism. The reports submitted by the Special Rapporteurs do not differ, however, from similar documents to be submitted under treaty obligations.

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  95. See Lillich, Human Rights Instruments, 130.1. See part IV.0 and part IV.E for discussions of the Genocide Convention.

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  112. An in-depth discussion of the protection of religious rights by regional instruments is beyond the scope of this article.

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  145. The United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, as well as other United Nations organs and treaty bodies, adopted numerous resolutions on ethnic cleansing. See, e.g., Natan Lerner, “Ethnic Cleansing,” Israel Yearbook on Human Rights 24 (1994): 103; Theodor Meron, “The Case for War Crimes Trials in Yugoslavia,” Foreign Affairs 72 (1993): 122; James C. O’Brien, “The International Tribunal for Violation of International Humanitarian Law in the Former Yugoslavia,” American Journal of International Law 87 (1993): 639.

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  146. UN Doc. E/CN.4/1993/62, at 119. A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees accused Serbians of “erasing all traces of a Muslim religious and cultural presence.” Chuck Sudetic, “U.N. Says `Ethnic Cleansing’ by Serbs Intensifies,” New York Times, 30 January 1994, A13.

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  148. See ibid.

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Tore Lindholm W. Cole Durham Jr. Bahia G. Tahzib-Lie Elizabeth A. Sewell Lena Larsen

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Lerner, N. (2004). The Nature and Minimum Standards of Freedom of Religion or Belief. In: Lindholm, T., Durham, W.C., Tahzib-Lie, B.G., Sewell, E.A., Larsen, L. (eds) Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief: A Deskbook. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-5616-7_3

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