Article 8 ensures that the 1981 U.N. Declaration, as a non-binding legal human rights instrument, is not used to take away or reduce and of the rights and freedoms of religion or belief found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This Study Topic focuses on why it is a concern to international lawyers and how Article 8 of the 1981 U.N. Declaration ensures that existing human rights protections remain in place.