Discrimination between human beings on grounds of religion or belief constitutes an affront to human dignity and a disavowal of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and shall be condemned as a violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and enunciated in detail in the International Covenants on Human Rights, as an obstacle to friendly and peaceful relations between nations.

Introduction

The 1981 U.N. Declaration is the only specific human rights instrument on freedom of religion or belief with a worldwide scope, thus its role is crucial as a point of departure for studying other human rights instruments with provisions relating to religion or belief. The international human rights system has four main components; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and all of its subsequent conventions and declarations, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), Independent United Nations Bodies, Regional Human Rights Instruments. 18 All four components need to be researched for applicable links to the 1981 U.N. Declaration.

Objectives

Understand the universal, interdependent and indivisible nature of human rights, and how to research the international human rights system for your community report on human rights and freedom of religion or belief.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Independent United Nations Organizations
• Regional Human Rights Instruments

Term 3.1.1: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Twenty-seven articles (ICCPR). It is an umbrella international legal treaty that has been followed by drafting several key international Conventions, important to human rights and freedom of religion or belief. The 1969 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), are key documents to research for matters inter-relating to intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief. In 1989, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights requested a report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1989/Sub.2) compiling all provisions on freedom of religion or belief in all other human rights instruments. Refer to Part IV Bibliography for references to find these important conventions.

Term 3.1.2: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: The (ICESCR) establishes economic, social and cultural rights, including rights relating to work in just and favorable conditions, to social protection, to an adequate standard of living, to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health, to education and the enjoyment of the benefits of cultural freedom and scientific progress. It also provides for the right to self-determination; equal rights for mean and women; the right to work; the right to just and favorable conditions of work, etc. 19

Article 2 includes a comprehensive guarantee that the rights stipulated in the ICESCR may be exercised without discrimination on the ground of religion or belief. Articles of the ICCPR are known as individual rights, articles of the ICESCR are known as group rights. There are countries that consider articles of the ICESCR to be goals and not rights.

They have not ratified or signed the Covenant on that basis. Nevertheless, the ICESCR speaks to the manifestations of economic, social and cultural injustice based on religion or belief. It is an extremely important human rights document to refer to when writing a community report on human rights and freedom of religion or belief. Any case studies or examples of intolerance and discrimination in the community report should be carefully researched and referenced to the ICESCR. Refer to Part IV: Bibliography for references to the ICESCR.

Term 3.1.3: Independent United Nations Organizations

The Charter of the United Nations is widely considered to be the constitution of the international community. 20 The U.N. System under the charter is composed of the Security Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice, Economic and Social Council, General Assembly and Secretariat. Established by the U.N. Charter, affiliated and reporting to the General Assembly, are 17 independent bodies with their own constitutions, i.e. International Labor Organization (ILO), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), etc. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) used herewith to demonstrate the link to the 1981 Declaration on freedom of religion or belief.

The UNESCO Convention Against Discrimination in Education was adopted in 1960. This nineteen-article convention (legal treaty among ratifying UNESCO Member States) incorporates provisions relating to religion or belief in three of the articles. It allows for the establishment of separate religious educational systems and guarantees the liberty of parents to choose for their children institutions other than those maintained by the public authorities, but conforming to such minimum educational standards as may be laid down or approved by competent authorities.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has played an unprecedented role in setting carefully drafted conventions on specific matters. The General Conference of the ILO has adopted more than 170 conventions. While none of them specifically addresses freedom of religion or belief, man such as the 1958 Convention on Discrimination in Respect to Employment and Occupation, the 1962 Convention on Basic Aims and Standards of Social Policy, and 1964 Convention on Employment Policy have direct references to not allowing discrimination based on religion or belief. Refer to Part IV: Bibliography for references to Independent U.N. Organizations.

Term 3.1.4: Regional Human Rights Instruments

The world is divided into ad-hoc regions with inter-governmental alliances, treaties and programs for countries within their geographical areas. In many regions there are treaties that closely approximate the 1948 U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Covenants and Conventions. In 1950, the Council of Europe passed the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Article 9 repeats Article 18 of the 1948 U.N. Declaration and respects the rights of parents to educate children in their own religious and philosophical convictions. This was the fore-runner to the European Union which in 2003 has proposed a new constitution with principles on human rights and freedom of religion or belief. The Office of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is a 55 member trans-Atlantic organization with principles calling for dialogue and consultation between OSCE and religious faiths and institutions.

The African Union (formerly the Organization of African Unity, OAU) in 1981 adopted an African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. Article 8 sates, “freedom of conscience, the profession and free practice of religion shall be guaranteed.” The Organization of American States (OAS), an alliance of North, South and Central American States, in 1969 adopted the American Convention on Human Rights. Article 12 repeats the four paragraphs of Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Organization of Southeast Asian Nations (OSEAN) has similar provisions. In 1990, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (a coalition of 50 states where Islam is in the majority) issued the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, which is a different slant on human rights from a religious perspective.

Regional human rights instruments, in some cases, are a bridge between international and national human rights instruments on freedom of religion or belief. There are judicial procedures in the EU and OAS regional organizations for bringing human rights abuses to regional courts. The Part IV: Bibliography has references to these regional human rights instruments. Article 3 should link four levels of research; international, regional, national and community, to see how the 1981 U.N. Declaration applies.

Related Examples

Several examples from recent Special Rapporteur reports can be used to demonstrate the universality, interdependence and indivisibility of human rights.

• CERD: The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, in his 8 September 2000 report to the General Assembly, commented on a study he was undertaking entitled “Racial Discrimination and Religious Discrimination: Identification and Measures,” that linked the 1981 Declaration to race and ethnicity as a form of “double” discrimination. This study was done in preparation for the World Conference

Against Racism, in Durban, South Africa, the third such world conference held to implement the 1966 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). 21

• CEDAW: The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) makes no mention of abuse against women based on religion or belief. In 2002, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief conducted a Study on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Status of Women from the Viewpoint of Religion and Traditions. This breakthrough study (E/CN.4/2002/73/add.2) identifies specific juridical and factual aspects where women have been discriminated against based on religion or belief. It was the first U.N. approach to the inter-relationship of women’s rights to freedom of religion or belief and is an excellent example of how Article 3 of the 1981 U.N. Declaration links to the 1979 CEDAW Convention.

Learning Experiences

Interview government offices and local human rights organizations (NGO’s) on how their work, which is not focused on freedom of religion or belief, nevertheless relates. Use Article 3 to link their answers to the 1981 U.N. Declaration as a paradigm for writing a community report. Before setting up interviews, study the ICESCR, ILO, WHO and other U.N. instruments that relate to matters of freedom of religion or belief. Prepare a series of questions on how other human rights instruments on the rights of women (CEDAW) the rights of the child (CRC), the elimination of racial discrimination (CERD), local rules and regulations against discrimination in the work place, etc. apply. If you are studying this manual as a group, you might divide up the task of community interviews and have a group discussion after the interviews on how Article 3 links to other human rights to protect women, children, indigenous peoples, etc.

TOPIC NOTES

PARAGRAPH 3.1: INDIVISIBILITY OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Discrimination against human beings on grounds of religion or belief constitutes an affront to human dignity and a disavowal of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and shall be condemned as a violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and enunciated in detail in the International Covenants on Human Rights, and as an obstacle to friendly and peaceful relations between nations.

Term 3.1.1: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Explain how Article 3 links the 1981 U.N. Declaration to other human rights instruments in the ICCPR, using the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Study on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Status of Women from the Viewpoint of Religion or Belief (E/CN.4/2002/73.add.2) as an example. Cite an example below of how this link may be applicable to your community.

Term 3.1.2: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Review the ICESCR. Cite any examples of persons or organizations in your community who have been discriminated against in work, education, health or social services based on religion or belief. Use the articles of the 1981 U.N. Declaration to describe who, when, where, why and how this happened.

Term 3.1.3: Independent U.N. Organizations

Choose a U.N. Independent organizations (UNESCO, ILO, WHO) that impacts your community and write an example of how they link to the articles of the 1981 U.N. Declaration.

Term 3.1.4: Other Human Rights Instruments

If your country belongs to an inter-governmental regional alliance (EU, OAS, AU, etc) describe how it would apply to your community report on human rights and freedom of religion or belief.

18. The University of Minnesota Human Rights Library has one of the largest on-line Internet libraries in the world with links to all other human rights instruments The University of Minnesota Human Rights Resource Center has a series of resource guidebooks on other human rights topics that can be purchased from their website. The website addresses for both resources can be found in the bibliography. back

19. Millennium Summit Multilateral Treaty Framework: An Invitation to Universal Participation, United Nations, 6-8 September, 2000, p. 11 back

20. The explanations of Independent United Nations Organizations are edited from Dr. Tahzib’s commentary, Freedom of Religion or Belief: Ensuring Effective International Protection, Kluwer Law International, the Hague, The Netherlands (1996) p. 62 back

21. A. Amor, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Report to the U.N. General Assembly, A/55/280, (2000) back