La tutela della libertà religiosa nel sistema delle Nazioni Unite. Quadro normativo e meccanismi di controllo

The Protection of Religious Freedom in the United Nations System: Normative Framework and Monitoring Mechanisms. This chapter provides an overview of the United Nations activities in the field of freedom of religion and belief. First, it explores the development and evolution of the UN instruments addressing this right, by examining in particular Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. Notwithstanding the longstanding recognition within the Organization of the need for the international protection of ‘religious rights’, a general consensus as to the content of freedom of religion and the permissible limitations thereof is still lacking: in this connection, the failure in the adoption of a specific convention on the matter is significant. Second, the focus moves to the UN bodies tasked with monitoring and promoting freedom of religion. The activity of the Human Rights Committee, the Human Rights Council and the UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance are considered in order to identify both trends and obstacles to the implementation of the relevant rules. The chapter concludes by highlighting that, in spite of the efforts made by the United Nations, the ambiguity and vagueness of the rules on religious freedom as well as the weakness of the existing institutional mechanisms prevents the Organization from playing an effective role in ensuring respect for the freedom of religion or belief.