Page 44 - مجلة الدراسات القضائية
P. 44
(ICCPR), under Article 18, which cannot be restricted. ln interpreting
the scope of permissible Iimitation
includes the rights to freedom of
clauses, States parties should proceed
thought, conscience and religion; the
from the need to protect the rights
right to change or adopt a religion; guaranteed under the Covenant, in-
freedom from coercion to adopt a
religion; the rights to manifest ones cluding the right to equality and non-
religion; that Iimitations upon this discrimination on all grounds speci-
right must be in law and necessary fied in articles2,3 and 26.Limitations
imposed must be established by law
for the protection of other rights; and and must not be applied in a manner
that States must respect the rights of
parents to ensure that their children's that would vitiate the rights guar-
religion education is in conformity to
anteed in article 18. The Committee
their own.
observes that paragraph 3 of article
This right, according to the UN
18 is to be strictly interpreted: restric-
Human Rights Committee, should tions are not a!lowed on grounds not
not be viewed restrictively. In its Cen- specified there, even if they would be
eral Comment No 22, the HRC states allowed as restrictions to other rights
that Article 18 of the ICCPR "protects protected in the Covenant, such as
theistic, non-theistic and atheistic be- national security. Limitations may be
Iiefs, as well as the right not to profess applied only for those purposes for
any religion or belief. The terms "be- which they were prescribed and must
Iief' and "religion" are to be broadly be directly related and proportionate
to the specific need on which they are
construed."(') This does not mean predicated. Restrictions may not be
imposed for discriminatory purposes
that this right cannot be regulated. or applied in a discriminatory man-
ner. The Committee observes that the
ln terms of legitimate limitations, the concept of morals derives from many
social, philosophical and religious tra-
H RC stated: ditions; consequently, limitations on
the freedom to manifest a religion or
The freedom from coercion to have belief for the purpose of protecting
or to adopt a religion or belief and the morals must be based on principles
not deriving exclusively from a single
liberty of parents and guardians to tradition. Persons already subject to
ensure religious and moral education
1- UN Human Rights Committee (HRC),
CCPR General Comment I\0. 22: Article l8
(Freedom of Thought, Conscience 0r Religion),
parzigraph 2,30 July 1,993, CCPR/C/21/
Rev.1 /Add.4, available at: https:/ /www.
re firorld .org/ docid/ 453883 b22. html
Freedom of Retigion, Limits on Hate Speech, and Promoting Toterance: A Comparative Study
