On the
occasion of the Twenty-Fifth anniversary of the 1981 United Nations Declaration
on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on
Religion or Belief, we, representatives of governments, international
organizations, and civil society – including organizations based on religion or
belief – and academics have come together in
We recall the protection of adherents of religion or belief in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, which explicitly recognize the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.
We recognize the fact that this right has been further clarified by the Human Rights Committee’s General Comment 22 on Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that the UN has made significant accomplishments in promoting the standards around this right, particularly through the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief to examine incidents and governmental actions in all parts of the world which are inconsistent with the provisions of the 1981 Declaration and to recommend remedial measures for such situations.
We appreciate the right to freedom of religion or belief for those who profess either and reaffirm the precious value of the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or whatever belief of one’s choice and to manifest it in public and in private, alone or in community with others, in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
We note that freedom of religion or belief includes theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief.
We condemn any incitement to hatred or violence against religions or beliefs – whether carried out by governmental or non-governmental actors – and in the name of religions or beliefs, and deeply regret that violations of the freedom of religion or belief unfortunately still occur in many parts of the world.
We are committed to the promotion and protection of the freedom of religion or belief and call for tolerance in matters relating to religion or belief; we are grateful for the attempts by civil society actors – including faith based organizations – to promote respect, tolerance and understanding; and acknowledge with appreciation initiatives aimed at the promotion of understanding among all, such as the UN Dialogue among Civilizations and the UN Alliance of Civilizations.
We consider it essential for governments and international organizations, such as the UN and various regional organizations, to give priority to the protection of the freedom of religion or belief and to the eradication of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief.
We draw particular attention to questions which the Prague commemorative events have focused on: (a) Protection of Religion or Belief vis-à-vis Freedom of Expression, (b) Change of Religion or Belief, Enabling the Environment, (c) Protection of Religion or Belief and (d) Propagation of Religion or Belief, and encourage efforts at further clarifying the scope of the various rights and freedoms contained in the 1981 Declaration.
We invite all States, the international community and civil society actors to promote the principles, objectives and recommendations of the present document, and to join us in reaffirming our full support for the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, which was adopted by consensus on 25 November 1981, and commit to upholding it and to working to ensure respect of its principles and objectives.
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