The Changing Nature of Religious Rights under International Law

The Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, as proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981, is the only universal human rights instrument specifically focusing on religious intolerance and discrimination. However, recent years have seen increasing controversy surrounding this right, in both political and legal contexts. The European Court of Human Rights has experienced a vast expansion in the number of cases it has had brought before it concerning religious freedom, and politically the boundaries of the right have been much disputed. This book provides a systematic analysis of the different approaches to religious rights which exist in public international law. The book explores how particular institutional perspectives emerge in the context of these differing approaches. It examines, and challenges, these institutional perspectives. It identifies new directions for approaching religious rights through international law by examining existing legal tools, and assesses their achievements and shortcomings. It studies religious organisations' support for international human rights protection, as well as religious critique of international human rights and the development of an alternative religious 'Bills of Rights'. It investigates whether expressions of members belonging to religious minorities can be considered under the minority right to culture, rather than the right to religion, and discusses the benefits and shortcomings of such a route. It analyses the reach and limits of the provisions in the 1981 Declaration, identifies ways in which the right is being eroded as a concept, and suggests new ways in which the right can be reinforced and protected.

Table of Contents:
Baroness Berridge of the Vale of Catmose: Forward Malcolm Evans, Peter Petkoff and Julian Rivers: Introduction 1: Mary Ann Glendon: Religious Freedom in the Secular Age 2: Heiner Bielefeldt: Towards a Clear Conceptualization of Freedom of Religion or Belief 3: Malcolm Evans: Freedom of Religion or Belief- New Challenges 4: Michael Wiener: Thirty Years 1981 Declaration as Reflected in Twenty -Five Years Mandate Practice of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief 5: Natan Lerner: Incitement to Hatred and the 1981 UN Declaration on Religion or Belief 6: Elizabeth Cassidy and Cathy Cosman: A View from the United States: US Bilateral and Multilateral Promotion of Freedom of Religion or Belief 7: Thomas Krapf: Lost Opportunities and Missed Targets: Notes on Freedom of Religion or Belief in the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe 8: Knox Thames: Old is New: Europe and Freedom of Religion or Belief 9: Dennis de Jong: The Contribution of the European Parliment to the Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief through the External Relations of the European Union 10: Cristopher McCrudden: Faith-Based Non-Governmental Organizations in the Public Square 11: Peter Petkoff: Translating Across Secular and Religious Legal Cultures and Public International Law 12: David Jaeger: The Holy See's Perspective on Religious Freedom 13: Gary Wilton: Religion, Human Rights and Foreign Policy 14: Cole Durham and Elisabeth Clark: Corporate Religious Freedom 15: Ilias Bantekas: Freedom of Religion in Transnational Contract and Commercial Transactions

About the Author :
Malcolm Evans OBE is Professor of Public International Law at the University of Bristol. He is a member of the Organisation on Security and Cooperation in Europe's Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion and Belief, and the author of many publications on international law, human rights, and religion. Peter Petkoff is a Lecturer at Brunel University and a Fellow of the Centre for Christianity and Culture at Regent's Park College in Oxford.

Review :
An important volume for anyone who wishes to understand the issues that are at stake in the field of international law and religion.