ABSTRACT
Calls for the adoption of an international treaty dedicated to countering discrimination and hatred on the basis of religion – an instrument analogous to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) – have appeared regularly for several decades. They are the aftermath of an unsuccessful attempt to establish such a treaty when the ICERD was being formulated in the 1960s. Although preparations for the enactment of the “twin” conventions proceeded in parallel, works on the one with a religious dimension only concluded with the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981 Resolution), adopted by the UN General Assembly. Since then, the question remains open of whether the standard of protection against religious discrimination and hatred is adequate, or whether it needs to be strengthened or thoroughly redefined and supplemented in the face of continuing threats to the rights and freedoms of vulnerable groups, which include religious minorities and individuals persecuted because of their religion or belief. At the same time, an important element of the ongoing discussions is the need to protect individuals who, by manifesting their opposition to certain religious practices, for example, are exposed to harassment and persecution. In the face of conflicts over the scope of protection to be granted to religions as such (including their sacred symbols, books, or prophets) and controversies relating to the contradiction between certain religious practices or dogmas and the prohibition of religious discrimination, the probability of reaching a consensus in such a sensitive area is low, and the eventual treaty 54could even turn out to be less meaningful (in terms of its scope) than the existing 1981 Declaration. The proposed chapter is thus intended to present the most important arguments “for” and “against” establishing a new treaty on religious discrimination and hatred, though without aspiring to give exhaustive or prejudging answers.
