The human right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, as enshrined in international and European human rights law, has been described by human rights experts and scholars as a “precious asset”1 and even as the “most precious of all human rights” 2 as it protects the very core of personal freedom of human beings. As this right points to the conscience of the human person, which is often referred to as foundational to human dignity, it can be seen as a philosophical basis of human rights.3 Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion has therefore been termed, along with freedom of opinion, the “nucleus of the Bill of Rights” 4 of the United Nations (UN).

In Europe, religious freedom is protected under the Council of Europe’s European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which is the most efficient regional human rights body as it also allows for individual complaints before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Thanks to the legal protection of religious freedom under the ECHR and national legislation, it remains uncommon to see violent outbreaks caused by anti-religious sentiment, or explicit discrimination in most parts of Europe. However, an increase in violent incidents and discrimination on religious grounds has been observed in the past decades. Against this backdrop, monitoring by civil society organisations is particularly important in order to remind governments of their human rights obligations and hence contribute to comprehensive human rights protection in the region.

Mehr erfahren Sie hier...