Dag Hammarskjöld Library at Uppsala University
Freedom of Religion and Belief
- © United Nations
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly in 1948, defines freedom of religion and belief as follows: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance".
In 1981, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief.
In 1986, the UN Commission on Human Rights created the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief to investigate religious intolerance worldwide. This mechanism has now been assumed by the Human Rights Council.
Documentation
The official web site of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief at the UN official web site, section Human Rights, High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Issues, Freedom of Religion and Belief, provides background information and full text reports and documents.
Yearbook of the United Nations provides an overview of the UN actions against religious intolerance. A complete collection of yearbooks is held by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the Libraries at UN Headquarters in New York and Geneva. Since October 2008 the complete full text collection of The United Nations Yearbooks is available online at http://unyearbook.un.org/.
Databases and Indexes
The UN Library online catalogue UNBISnet contains reports, documents and articles related to UN activities with links to full texts for recent years. Subject search can be performed using relevant terms from the UNBIS THESAURUS.
The reports of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief can be retrieved from the Charter-based Bodies Database at the UN official web site, section Human Rights.