Links to human rights documents, United Nations and other human rights bodies and to longer articles providing more in depth information about freedom of religion or belief in relation to cross cutting issues.
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Important safety notice
The rights you will learn about in the Learning Platform resource materials are the rights guaranteed by international law. Under international law, no state, organisation, religious or belief community or person can take these rights away from people. None the less, in some national contexts the exercise of these rights is illegal or risk filled. When using the resources, it is important to find out what laws apply in your context and consider how these relate to international law. When working to educate others, please remember that it may be dangerous to talk about human rights in general and freedom of religion or belief in particular. Please adapt the resources both to your audience and to risk factors. We provide scripts of all of our films in order to enable you to adapt the contents appropriately.
The rights you will learn about in the Learning Platform resource materials are the rights guaranteed by international law. Under international law, no state, organisation, religious or belief community or person can take these rights away from people. None the less, in some national contexts the exercise of these rights is illegal or risk filled. When using the resources, it is important to find out what laws apply in your context and consider how these relate to international law. When working to educate others, please remember that it may be dangerous to talk about human rights in general and freedom of religion or belief in particular. Please adapt the resources both to your audience and to risk factors. We provide scripts of all of our films in order to enable you to adapt the contents appropriately.
International conventions and declarations and related documents
If you want to work to promote and defend freedom of religion or belief then it's vital to know your rights. Here you'll find links to the most important international documents describing the right to freedom of religion or belief and associated issues of intolerance and discrimination.
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) The foundation of human rights, this ground-breaking declaration highlights freedom of religion or belief in article 18. Other language versions |
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) The key international standard that in article 18 protects freedom of religion or belief and in article 27 protects the rights of minorities. |
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Article 14 focuses on the freedom of religion or belief of children and the role of parents in supporting this right. |
General Comment 22 on ICCPR Article 18
Advice on how to the right to freedom of religion or belief should be interpreted from the Human Rights Committee, which is a non-political UN expert body tasked with monitoring and promoting the rights given in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Other language versions.
Advice on how to the right to freedom of religion or belief should be interpreted from the Human Rights Committee, which is a non-political UN expert body tasked with monitoring and promoting the rights given in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Other language versions.
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United Nations Declaration on the elimination of all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief This declaration from the United Nations provides more information about what freedom of religion or belief involves focusing on the right to manifest religion, including rights for parents and on protection from discrimination and violence. The right to change your religion is not focused upon in this declaration. United Nations Declaration on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities This declaration from the United Nations focuses on the duty of states to protect the existence of minorities and their right to promote and enjoy their culture, religion and language without discrimination. |
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples This declaration from the United Nations focuses upon the rights of indigenous peoples and in article 12 on the right to manifest, practice, develop and teach their spiritual and religious traditions, customs and ceremonies and to maintain, protect, and have access in privacy to their religious and cultural sites. Article 25 highlights their right to maintain and strengthen their distinctive spiritual relationship with traditional lands and waters . Vienna concluding document Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSSE 1989). This document applies to the 57 participating states in the OSSE. In paragraphs 16-16.11 the document outlines how the right to freedom of religion or belief will be respected, protected and promoted by those states. |
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Digest of International Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief International Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief. A useful collection of global and regional human rights texts. |
Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence The result of a series of expert workshops on the prohibition of incitement to national, racial or religious hatred organised by the OHCHR. Also available in French, Arabic and Bangla. |
Global declarations on Freedom of Religion or Belief
Published by three Christian bodies, this document collects declarations and statements on Freedom of Religion or Belief from a range of bodies/faith communities. Sources are predominantly but not exclusively Christian, including statements from the Vatican, the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance.
Published by three Christian bodies, this document collects declarations and statements on Freedom of Religion or Belief from a range of bodies/faith communities. Sources are predominantly but not exclusively Christian, including statements from the Vatican, the World Council of Churches and the World Evangelical Alliance.