ABSTRACT
There is no meaningful analysis of the international human right to freedom of conscience, other than in the context of military objection, nor any specific focus on the scope to be accorded to the universal treaty term 'belief' as referring to a conscientious belief. Various studies were conducted towards the end of World War Two that focused on rights to be included in a universal human rights document. The final version of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Article 18 pertaining to the freedom of religion and conscience states: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought conscience and religion. Unlike the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights (ECHR) provides for derogation to the right to conscience in times of public emergency. The French delegate preferred the singular reference to intolerance in the title since, from a legal standpoint, the term incorporated freedom of conscience as well.
