Human rights and the protection of religious expression

21This chapter addresses the danger of misapplying or misinterpreting international human rights legal standards in dealing with religious freedom issues, particularly about religious expression. The abuse of religious freedom is one of the crucial global issues of our day. Though freedom of religion is said to have been historically the first human right, and is a most important part of human rights law, many now perceive that right is in danger. More and more often today, what that religious speaker can say is being prevented, limited, or punished. ¹