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Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of
Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief General Assembly resolution 36/55 New York, 25 November 1981
By Michael Wiener
Human Rights Officer Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
When the United Nations General Assembly adopted on 25 November 1981, without a vote, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (the “1981 Declaration”), it was hailed by diplomats as a major landmark in the promotion and protection of human rights in this important and fundamental field (A/36/PV.73). It is indeed the first international soft law instrument focusing on religious intolerance and since 1986 the United Nations have also mandated a Special Rapporteur to monitor the implementation of the 1981 Declaration globally. Yet why did it take almost two decades for the 1981 Declaration to be adopted and how have its key provisions influenced subsequent legal developments? Historical Context
In 1954, the then United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld in his address to the second Assembly of the World Council of Churches referred to ideological tensions at the time with “two predominant trends, one in the direction of social and economic equality within the nations, the other one in the direction of equal rights and opportunities for all nations”. This led in the 1950s and 1960s to the drafting of two separate covenants, one for the protection of civil and political rights as well as another one concerning economic, social and cultural rights. The ideological and political tensions during the Cold War furthermore implied that Western States advocated for freedom of religion, whereas the Communist bloc emphasized the right not to have a religion and the protection of atheistic belief. This definitional issue is also reflected in the Study of Discrimination in the Matter of Religious Rights and Practices (1960), in which Special Rapporteur Arcot Krishnaswami defined the term “religion or belief” to “include, in addition to various theistic creeds, such other beliefs as agnosticism, free thought, atheism and rationalism.” This seminal study, especially its first annex with draft principles on freedom and non-discrimination in the matter of religious rights and practices, subsequently became in part a blueprint for the 1981 Declaration. Special Rapporteur Krishnaswami stressed that “equality of treatment is not ensured for all religions and beliefs, or for their followers, in certain areas of the world” and that “it must not be forgotten that mankind only recently has witnessed persecutions on a more colossal scale than ever before”. In 1959 and 1960, a wave of anti-Semitic incidents notably in countries of the Western hemisphere, which were reminiscent of the crimes and outrages committed by the Nazis prior to and during the Second World War, triggered resolutions in 1960 by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (in its resolution 3 A (XII)) and subsequently the Commission on Human Rights (in its resolution 6 (XVI)). The latter noted with deep concern the manifestations of anti-Semitism and other forms of racial prejudice and religious intolerance of a similar nature which might be once again the forerunner of other heinous acts endangering the future. Significant Developments in the Negotiating History
In view of “growing divisions” among delegates about the appropriate response from the international community, the General Assembly adopted in 1962 two resolutions requesting the Economic and Social Council to ask the then Commission on Human Rights to prepare draft declarations and draft conventions on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (resolution 1780 (XVII)) and of religious intolerance (resolution 1781 (XVII)). These envisaged two non-binding and two legally binding texts on racial discrimination and on religious intolerance were initially pursued in parallel, yet the debate of the former encountered less problems and delays than the latter. Thus it took less than one year for the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to be adopted by the General Assembly in 1963 (resolution 1904 (XVIII)) and only another two years for the related Convention in 1965 (resolution 2106 (XX)). By contrast, the road to negotiating and finalizing the declaration on religious intolerance was “long, arduous and full of obstacles”, as noted by the delegation from the Netherlands at its adoption in 1981. Furthermore, the elaboration of a draft convention on religious intolerance was deprioritized by the General Assembly in 1972 (resolution 3027(XXVII)) and was ultimately no longer actively pursued. This is also linked to the entry into force of the two legally binding overarching human rights covenants in 1976, i.e. ten years after their adoption. They both contain provisions relating to religious freedom. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the “ICESCR”) guarantees in its article 13 the liberty of parents and legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions. Furthermore, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the “ICCPR”) includes several provisions related to religion, notably in its article 18 (freedom of religion or belief), article 26 (prohibition of discrimination on any ground such as religion) and article 27 (protection of religious minorities). Since 1977, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has also been monitoring the implementation of the legally binding ICCPR through issuing concluding observations on periodic reports by State parties and adopting views on communications concerning individual cases, including on religious discrimination. Between 1974 and 1981, an informal working group of the Commission on Human Rights discussed and formulated the preamble and substantive articles of the draft declaration. Faith-based and secular civil society organizations played an important role in the travaux préparatoires, including through lobbying efforts at the outset and substantive contributions to the final wording of the declaration. In addition, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief acknowledged the active part taken by the Holy See in preparing and adopting the 1981 Declaration (E/CN.4/2000/65). Furthermore, the Chairperson of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, Andreas V. Mavrommatis, called the unanimous adoption on 25 November 1981 an “auspicious and extremely gratifying event”, expressing specific thanks to the two chairpersons of the Commission’s Working Group, i.e. the Canadian diplomat Yvon Beaulne and Abdoulaye Dieye from Senegal; the latter was also a member of the Human Rights Committee from 1979 to 1982. This illustrates the cross-border collaboration of diplomats, faith-based civil society organizations and United Nations treaty body members in formulating and finalizing the 1981 Declaration. Summary of Key Provisions
Its preamble contains a key provision that characterizes freedom of religion or belief, and indirectly provides elements for a definition, by “[c]onsidering that religion or belief, for anyone who professes either, is one of the fundamental elements in his conception of life”. This phrase has also been taken up by the General Assembly, Human Rights Council and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in several resolutions, reports and press releases. It combines a general openness for a broad range of different types of religious or belief-related convictions and concomitant practices with safeguards against dangers of trivialization. The “open definition” in the 1981 Declaration’s preamble has been commented to underline that religions and beliefs “have an existential significance, which permeates the entire self-understanding of a person and his or her way of life”, which thus also helps avoiding potential pitfalls if all sorts of trivial interests were deemed to be covered by freedom of religion or belief (H. Bielefeldt, M. Wiener, Religious Freedom Under Scrutiny, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2019). The formulation in article 1 that the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion “shall include freedom to have a religion or whatever belief of his choice” is a diplomatic compromise due to the opposition from certain delegates against the explicit reference to the “freedom to change his religion or belief”, even though this formulation has been enshrined since 1948 in article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (the “UDHR”) (J. Walkate, “The Right of Everyone to Change his Religion or Belief – some observations”, Netherlands International Law Review, vol. 30, issue 2, 1983, pp. 146-160). However, article 8 of the 1981 Declaration clarifies that nothing in that declaration shall be construed as restricting or derogating from any rights defined in the UDHR, ICCPR or ICESCR. This safeguard clause was also flagged by the delegation from the Netherlands immediately after the adoption of the 1981 Declaration, stressing that “the exercise of the right to maintain, change and manifest one’s religion or belief should be seen as a healthy sign of freedom and democracy”. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief (A/67/303) and the Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4) have clarified that the rights to replace one’s current religion or belief with another or to adopt atheistic views or to retain one’s religion or belief, remain fully protected in spite of the slightly different wording in the UDHR, ICCPR and 1981 Declaration. Freedom to change one’s religious or belief-related orientations thus remains an indispensable component of freedom of religion or belief. Indeed, it defines its very nature as a right to freedom. Article 2, paragraph 1, of the 1981 Declaration sheds light on the rights-holders and duty-bearers by stressing that “[n]o one shall be subject to discrimination by any State, institution, group of persons, or person on the grounds of religion or belief”. The formulation “no one” underlines that all human beings, not only citizens, are rights-holders and must be protected, whereas both States and non-State actors may be duty-bearers and potential perpetrators of discrimination on the basis or in the name of religion or belief. In mission reports and communications with de facto authorities in protracted conflicts, Special Rapporteurs have quoted the 1981 Declaration, which is not legally binding but has the advantage – compared to the ICCPR – that it does not need to be ratified by a State. Article 2, paragraph 2, provides an important definition of the terms “intolerance and discrimination”, meaning “any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on religion or belief and having as its purpose or as its effect nullification or impairment of the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis”. Even though this definition in article 2 appears to equate both terms, the interpretation by Donna J. Sullivan is more convincing; she distinguishes the human rights violation through “discrimination” from its “intolerant” motivation, i.e. “intolerance describes the emotional, psychological, philosophical and religious attitudes that may prompt acts of discrimination or violations of religious freedoms”. Natan Lerner also noted that the term “intolerance” is “imprecise and vague”, whereas the term “discrimination” has a clear legal meaning due to its use in various international treaties. Similar to the formulation in the 1963 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, also the 1981 Declaration in its article 3 stresses that “[d]iscrimination between human beings on the grounds of religion or belief constitutes an affront to human dignity and a disavowal of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and shall be condemned as a violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the UDHR”. This is a strong formulation, which links claims to non-discriminatory treatment to the due respect of everyone’s human dignity. In addition, the 1981 Declaration also refers to the enunciation of these freedoms in the ICCPR and ICESCR, which obviously the 1963 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination could not do before the two Covenants were ultimately adopted in 1966. Article 4 of the 1981 Declaration requests all States to “take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief in the recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms in all fields of civil, economic, political, social and cultural life”. This is an important clarification, not least in the face of ongoing attempts to draw spatial limits to the exercise of freedom of religion or belief, for example by mainly locating this right in the “private sphere” or by purging public institutions or certain companies from visible or audible manifestations of religiosity. The Declaration’s broad formulation (“in all fields ...”) was used by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief in his thematic report on discrimination in the workplace to argue that providing reasonable accommodation should be understood as part of the States’ legal responsibility, including with regard to guaranteeing freedom of religion or belief (A/69/261). Article 5 provides for detailed rights of parents and legal guardians to organize the life within the family in accordance with their religion or belief, while also referring to the “best interests of the child” as the guiding principle. This provision obviously predates the adoption in 1989 of the Convention on the Rights of Child, which enshrines the “best interests” principle and requires that the views of the child be given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child (article 12, paragraph 1) and explicitly guarantees the right of the child to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (article 14, paragraph 1). The Special Rapporteur has combined the provisions of the 1981 Declaration with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, for example in a communication that criticized the missing recognition of the right to religious education and belief for children (E/CN.4/1995/91). Article 6 contains a non-exhaustive list of manifestations that are protected under the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief. Once again, the 1981 Declaration insists on a broad application. The wording used here includes the freedoms (a) to maintain places for worship or assembly; (b) to establish charitable or humanitarian institutions; (c) to make, acquire and use materials related to the rites or customs; (d) to write, issue and disseminate publications; (e) to teach a religion or belief in suitable places; (f) to solicit and receive voluntary financial and other contributions; (g) to train, appoint, elect or designate by succession appropriate leaders; (h) to celebrate holidays and ceremonies; and (i) to maintain communications with individuals and communities at the national and international levels. Given the fact that in many national constitutions, provisions relating to freedom of religion or belief mainly focus on the element of “worship”, the insistence on a broad understanding of manifestations proves highly relevant. Article 7 requires national legislations to ensure that in practice everyone shall be able to avail themselves of the rights and freedoms set forth in the 1981 Declaration. Several Special Procedures mandate-holders have underscored the importance of non-discriminatory laws, effective remedies for human rights violations and wide dissemination of the 1981 Declaration, for example through artistic displays, civic/religious education programmes and the peer-to-peer learning methodology of the #Faith4Rights toolkit. Influence on Subsequent Legal Developments
In the four decades since the adoption of the 1981 Declaration, more than 500 United Nations reports, resolutions, summary records, letters by States and statements by civil society organizations have made reference to it. For example, the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities in its preamble stressed the desire to promote the realization of the principles contained in various international instruments, including the 1981 Declaration. Furthermore, the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna invited all States to put into practice the provisions of the 1981 Declaration and similarly the 2001 World Conference against Racism in Durban called for its implementation “in order to obviate religious discrimination which, when combined with certain other forms of discrimination, constitutes a form of multiple discrimination”. In 2020-2021, the General Assembly explicitly referred to the 1981 Declaration in its thematic resolutions on the promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace (resolution 75/26), freedom of religion or belief (resolution 75/188), International Day of Human Fraternity (resolution 75/200) and on promoting a culture of peace and tolerance to safeguard religious sites (resolution 75/258). Since 1986, a Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance (renamed in 2000 to “Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief”) has been mandated to examine incidents and governmental actions that are incompatible with the provisions of the 1981 Declaration and to recommend remedial measures as appropriate. This global Special Procedures mandate compensates partly for the lack of a legally binding instrument and treaty body exclusively dedicated to eliminating all forms of religious discrimination, bearing also in mind that the Human Rights Committee monitors the implementation of articles 18, 26 and 27 of the ICCPR and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights does the same with regard to article 13 of the ICESCR. At the regional level, Principle 16 of the Concluding Document of the Vienna Meeting 1986 of Representatives of the Participating States of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe takes up several elements from the catalogue of rights enumerated in article 6 of the 1981 Declaration. At the national level, an Argentinian bill on religious freedom refers to the 1981 Declaration and the Australian Human Rights Commission can inquire into complaints about the Commonwealth’s acts or practices that are inconsistent with or contrary to the 1981 Declaration. Furthermore, article 1.2 of the 2006 Law on Freedom of Religion in Kosovo is almost a verbatim copy of article 6(a)-(i) of the 1981 Declaration. In his thematic report on recognition issues, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief also used each of these nine categories to illustrate the practical problems encountered by unregistered religious or belief communities and the human rights implications of missing legal personality status. Similarly, it is a key source for the Special Rapporteur’s 2020 report to the General Assembly (A/75/385), proposing specific indicators of impact in reducing inequalities, combating intolerance and tackling discrimination against religious and belief minorities. International and regional jurisprudence also refers to the 1981 Declaration, for example in cases decided by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (Sister Immaculate Joseph and 80 Teaching Sisters of the Holy Cross of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Menzingen of Sri Lanka v. Sri Lanka), the European Court of Human Rights (“Orthodox Ohrid Archdiocese (Greek-Orthodox Ohrid Archdiocese of the Peć Patriarchy)” v. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Nadege Dorzema et al. v. Dominican Republic) and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Republic of Kenya). Yet it is not referred to in the Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (2012), due to the conspicuous absence of incitement language in the 1981 Declaration, apart from the allusion in its preamble to “foreign interference in the internal affairs of other States and […] kindling hatred between peoples and nations”, which has a different target than article 20, paragraph 2, of the ICCPR. However, the Beirut Declaration and its 18 commitments on “Faith for Rights” (2017) directly quotes article 2 of the 1981 Declaration to support the point that religious institutions, leaders and even each individual within religious or belief communities bear responsibilities independently from public authorities. The Beirut Declaration, which applies both in times of peace and armed conflict, also stresses that under certain circumstances, in particular when non-State actors exercise significant/effective control over territory and population (e.g. as de facto authorities), they are also obliged to respect international human rights as duty-bearers. By way of conclusion, the 1981 Declaration has been lauded as “a milestone in the progressive development of human rights norms”, whereas a more critical appraisal regards it at least as “a victory taking into account the surrounding gloomy political circumstances and the delicacy of the subject-matter”. The 1981 Declaration indeed provides important guidance for defining the contours of freedom of religion or belief, notably through the non-exhaustive catalogue of protected manifestations as enumerated in its article 6 which has inspired regional and national norms. Furthermore, it has been a practical yardstick for the Special Rapporteur’s country missions and communications, especially with regard to States that have not acceded to the legally binding ICCPR. However, the lengthy and difficult negotiations during the travaux préparatoires of the 1981 Declaration ultimately led to compromise language and several substantive gaps in the final text, which for example does not refer at all to the protection of religious or belief minorities, the prohibition of incitement to hatred and violence, or the specific role of religious leaders and faith actors. Yet, as explained above, these lacunae have been filled and fixed through subsequent soft law standards such as the 1992 Minorities Declaration, the 2012 Rabat Plan of Action and the 2017 Beirut Declaration on “Faith for Rights”. Together with the pertinent provisions of the two legally binding Covenants (ICCPR and ICESCR), this jigsaw of hard and soft law standards constitutes the Special Rapporteur’s framework for communications (E/CN.4/2006/5) and is also the legal backbone of international jurisprudence and academic commentary on freedom of religion or belief. This Introductory Note was written in February 2021.
Related Materials
In 1952, at the fifth session of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (Sub-Commission), the representative of the Agudas Israel World Organization, Mr. Aharon Lewin, suggested that a study of discrimination in the matter of religious rights and practices be undertaken. On that occasion, the representative urged the Sub-Commission to add religious discrimination to the various forms of discrimination to be studied (E/CN.4/Sub.2/SR.104). The Sub-Commission, in the context of elaborating its programme of work, decided to include the issue of religious discrimination in its series of planned studies of discrimination in various areas (E/CN.4/670 – E/CN.4/Sub.2/149). One year later, at its ninth session, the Commission on Human Rights (Commission) approved the programme of work of the Sub-Commission, agreeing that further action should be taken to combat discrimination in the field of religious rights and practices, among others (E/2447). In 1954, at its sixth session, the Sub-Commission decided to include in the agenda of its seventh session an item entitled “Procedure to be followed in carrying out studies in the matter of … (b) religious rights and practices…”. A member of the Sub-Commission, Mr. Philip Halpern (United States of America), was appointed to submit proposals concerning the procedure to be followed in undertaking such a study (E/CN.4/703-E/CN.4/Sub.2/157, paragraph 143 (resolution D)). At its seventh session in 1955, the Sub-Commission examined the preliminary report of Mr. Halpern (E/CN. 4/Sub.2/162) and decided to undertake a study on this item (E/CN.4/711). This decision was subsequently approved by the Commission (E/CN.4/717, resolution B) and the Economic and Social Council (resolution 586 C (XX) of 29 July 1955). At its eighth session in 1956, the Sub-Commission decided to proceed with the study of discrimination in the matter of religious rights and practices and appointed Mr. Arcot Krishnasvami (India) as Special Rapporteur to carry out this task (E/CN.4/721 – E/CN.4/Sub.2/117, paragraph 118 (resolution C)). The Sub-Commission considered the Special Rapporteur’s progress report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/182) at its ninth session in 1957 (E/CN.4/740-Sub.2/186-E/CN.4/749), his draft report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/L.123) at its tenth session in 1958 (E/CN.4/764 - E/CN.4/Sub.2/192), and his supplement to the draft report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/L.123/Add.1) at its eleventh session in 1959 (E/CN.4/778 and E/CN.4/778/Corr.l - E/CN.4/Sub.2/198/Corr.l). The Special Rapporteur submitted his final study (E/CN.4/Sub.2/200/Rev.1) to the Sub-Commission at its twelfth session in 1960. The Sub-Commission transmitted it to the Commission, together with a series of draft principles on freedom and non-discrimination in religious rights and practices which it had formulated on the basis of rules proposed in the study (E/CN.4/800 - E/CN.4/Sub.2/206). The Commission decided to further consider the draft principles at its next session and asked the Secretary-General to transmit the draft principles to Member States for their comments on the substance of the principles and the form in which they should be embodied (E/CN.4/804, paragraph 167 (resolution 4 (XVI))). On 25 July 1960, the Economic and Social Council adopted resolution 772 C (XXX), in which it took note of the study and asked that it be widely circulated. It also drew the Assembly’s attention to the fact that the draft principles had been submitted to Governments for observation. At its fifteenth session in the same year, the General Assembly adopted resolution 1510 (XV) of 12 December on “Manifestations of racial and national hatred”, in which it shared the concerns of the Commission and Sub-Commission about these manifestations and called upon the Governments of all States to take all the necessary measures to prevent all manifestations of racial, religious and national hatred. In 1961, the Commission deferred consideration of the draft principles until its eighteenth session in 1962 (E/3456-E/CN.4/817). On 27 July 1961, at its thirty-second session, the Economic and Social Council adopted resolution 826 B (XXXII) and recommended the General Assembly to adopt a draft resolution, calling upon all Member States to take the necessary steps to rescind discriminatory laws which had the effect of creating and perpetuating racial prejudice and national and religious intolerance wherever they still existed. In the same year, the item “Manifestations of racial prejudice and national and religious intolerance” was introduced on the agenda of the General Assembly and allocated to the Third Committee. The Third Committee did not have the time to consider the item fully and the General Assembly, by resolution 1684 (XVI) of 18 December, decided to take it up at its next session in 1962. At its eighteenth session in 1962, the Commission began its examination of the draft principles prepared by the Sub-Commission in 1960. For this purpose, the Commission took into account the study of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/Sub.2/200/Rev.1), comments on the substance of the draft principles from Governments (E/CN.4/809, E/CN.4/809/Add.l, E/CN.4/809/Add.2, E/CN.4/809/Add.3, E/CN.4/809/Add.4, E/CN.4/809/Add.5, E/CN.4/809/Add.6, E/CN.4/809/Add.7, E/CN.4/809/Add.8, E/CN.4/809/Add.9, E/CN.4/809/Add.10 and E/CN.4/809/Add.11) and non-governmental organizations (E/CN.4/NGO/91, E/CN.4/NGO/95 and Add.1, E/CN.4/NGO/98), and a working paper listing amendments and new texts relating to the principles prepared by the Secretary-General (E/CN.4/L.602). The Commission decided to continue consideration of the draft principles at its nineteenth session (E/3616/Rev.1). On 7 December 1962, at its seventeenth session, the General Assembly adopted, inter alia, two resolutions under agenda item “Manifestations of racial prejudice and national and religious intolerance”, upon the recommendation of the Third Committee (A/5305). By resolution 1779 (XVII) entitled “Manifestations of racial prejudice and national and religious intolerance”, the General Assembly, on the basis of the recommendations by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 826 B (XXXII), called for a number of specific measures aimed at eradicating racial prejudice and national and religious intolerance. The Assembly also adopted resolution 1781 (XVII) entitled “Preparation of a draft declaration and a draft convention on the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance” (A/PV.1187). In this resolution, the General Assembly requested the Economic and Social Council to ask the Commission to prepare a draft declaration and a draft convention on the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance, bearing in mind the views of the Sub-Commission, the debates at the seventeenth session of the General Assembly, any proposals that might have been submitted by Governments and any instruments adopted in the field by the specialized agencies. The Assembly requested that the draft declaration be submitted to it at its eighteenth session in 1963 and, if possible, the draft convention at its nineteenth session in 1964 and no later than at its twentieth session. (While work on the two instruments was undertaken in parallel for some years, detailed information on the draft convention is not provided in this procedural history note, which is limited to the Declaration.) At its resumed thirty-fourth session, the Economic and Social Council, on 19 December 1962, decided to transmit the General Assembly resolution to the Commission as well as to the Sub-Commission (E/SR.1238). At its fifteenth session in 1963 (E/CN.4/846-E/CN.4/Sub. 2 /229), the Sub-Commission adopted resolution 8 (XV) of 14 February, in which it expressed the view that the draft principles on freedom and non-discrimination that it had previously submitted to the Commission for consideration contained the basic elements to be included in a draft declaration on this topic. It urged the Commission to take “special measures” in order for the draft declaration to be submitted to the General Assembly for consideration at its eighteenth session. In the same year, at its nineteenth session, the Commission decided to give priority to the preparation of the draft declaration and requested the Sub-Commission to submit a preliminary draft, taking into account the views expressed during the debate on the subject by the Commission. The Commission also requested the Secretary-General to invite Member States to submit any proposals they might wish to make with respect to the provisions that such a declaration should contain (E/3743 - E/CN.4/857, paragraph 156 (resolution 10 (XIX))). On 12 July 1963, the Economic and Social Council adopted resolution 958 F (XXXVI), drawing the attention of the General Assembly to the views of the Commission. Owing to lack of time, the Third Committee of the General Assembly decided to postpone consideration of the item to the Assembly’s nineteenth session (A/5667). In 1964, at its sixteenth session, the Sub-Commission adopted a preliminary draft declaration which was submitted to the Commission for consideration at its twentieth session (E/CN.4/873-E/CN.4/Sub.2/241, paragraph 142 (resolution 3 (XVI))). The Commission established a Working Group to prepare a draft text based on the work of the Sub-Commission and considered the first six draft articles (E/CN.4/L.713/Rev.1). In resolution 2 (XX) of 13 March 1964, the Commission requested, inter alia, the Secretary-General to transmit to Member States the report of the Working Group as well as the preliminary draft declaration submitted by the Sub-Commission for their comments, which would then be transmitted to the Economic and Social Council for its consideration at the thirty-seventh session. Moreover, the Commission recommended the Council, after having given due consideration to the topic, to submit the relevant documents to the General Assembly for further consideration at its nineteenth session in 1964 (E/3925, E/3925/Corr.1, E/3925/Add.1, E/3925/Add.2, E/3925/Add.3, E/3925/Add.4 and E/3925/Add.5). In resolution 1015 C (XXXVII) of 30 July 1964, the Economic and Social Council referred the relevant documents to the General Assembly and suggested that the Assembly decide on the future course to be followed with regard to this item. The Assembly deferred consideration of the matter until its twentieth session in 1965 (A/5884). In resolution 2020 (XX), adopted on 1 November 1965 upon the recommendation of the Third Committee (A/6069), the General Assembly requested the Economic and Social Council to invite the Commission to make every effort to complete the preparation of the draft declaration on the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance and the draft international convention on the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance at its twenty-second session, in order for them to be submitted to the General Assembly at its twenty-first session, in 1966, where the consideration of the two drafts would be accorded priority. From 1965 to 1967, the Commission focused its work on the draft convention and did not pursue the draft declaration. On 11 December 1967, the General Assembly adopted, upon the recommendation of the Third Committee (A/6934 and Corr.1), resolution 2295 (XXII) entitled “Elimination of all forms of religious intolerance”, in which it decided to give priority to the draft convention and the draft declaration at its twenty-third session. On the recommendation of the Third Committee, consideration of the draft declaration under the agenda item “Elimination of all forms of religious intolerance”, was annually postponed by the General Assembly without substantive discussion from 1968 to 1972 (A/7452, A/7886, A/8255 and A/8590, respectively). On 18 December 1972, on the recommendation of the Third Committee (A/8945), the General Assembly adopted resolution 3027 (XXVII), in which it noted the postponement, affirmed the equal importance of both a declaration and a convention on the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance and expressed its conviction of the need to give new momentum to this work by concentrating on the completion of one of these instruments. It decided to give priority to completion of the declaration, with a view to adopting it as part of the observance of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Assembly requested the Secretary-General to transmit to Member States of the United Nations or members of specialized agencies the preliminary draft declaration adopted by the Sub-Commission in 1964 (A/8330, annex I) and the 1964 report of the Working Group established by the Commission to prepare the draft declaration on the basis of the text prepared by the Sub-Commission (A/8330, annex II). The Assembly further invited Governments to transmit their observations on these documents. In 1973, the Third Committee considered the draft declaration at its 2009th to 2014th meetings (A/C.3/SR.2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014) based on the texts referred to above as well as a number of new amendments and proposals submitted to it (A/9322). On its recommendation, the General Assembly adopted resolution 3069 (XXVIII) on 30 November 1973, in which it determined that the preparation of a draft declaration required additional study. It considered the draft articles prepared by the Working Group of the Commission in 1964, and suggestions, comments and amendments thereto submitted by Member States, a suitable orientation for the preparation of the draft declaration. The Assembly invited the Economic and Social Council to request the Commission to prepare a single draft declaration for the Assembly’s consideration at its twenty-ninth session, taking into account the observations, comments, suggestions and amendments put forward in the course of the discussions. It further invited Governments to transmit any additional comments and suggestions on the draft articles and amendments. Pursuant to resolution 3069 (XXVIII), the Commission set up an informal working group at its thirtieth session in 1974 (E/5464 - E/CN.4/1154), which was open to all members of the Commission. At its first session, the Working Group agreed that the title for the draft declaration should be “Draft Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief”. The Commission was unable to complete its work on the draft declaration. At its request, the Economic and Social Council informed the General Assembly of the Commission’s intent to give priority to the matter in 1975 (Council Decision 14 (LVI) of 17 May 1974). By resolution 3267 (XXIX), adopted on 10 December 1974 upon the recommendation of the Third Committee (A/9893), the Assembly decided to include in its provisional agenda of its thirtieth session the item entitled “Elimination of all forms of religious intolerance” with a view to assessing progress on the elaboration of the declaration and to consider and adopt the declaration, provided that a single draft was completed by the Commission. From 1975 to 1981, no substantive resolutions were adopted by the General Assembly. It merely observed the progression of the Commission’s work and encouraged the acceleration of the process and the presentation of a draft declaration in the shortest possible time (resolution 31/138 of 16 December 1976; resolution 32/143 of 16 December 1977; resolution 33/106 of 16 December 1978; resolution 34/43 of 23 November 1979; and resolution 35/125 of 11 December 1980). Meanwhile, the Commission continued its work on the draft declaration in an informal, open-ended Working Group. In 1975 (E/5635-E/CN.4/1179) and 1976 (E/5768-E/CN.4/1213), the Working Group discussed various proposals but the Commission did not adopt any text. In 1977, the Working Group completed the draft preamble to the declaration; no agreement was reached on the operative articles (E/5927-E/CN.4/1257). No further concrete progress was made in 1978 (E/1978/34 – E/CN.4/1292). At the thirty-fifth session of the Commission in 1979, the Working Group agreed upon three draft articles for the declaration and the Commission adopted the same by resolution 20 (XXXV) of 14 March 1979. The Commission also requested the Secretary-General to invite the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to organize a collective consultation in relation to the phenomenon of religious intolerance, and to submit the conclusions reached to the Commission at its thirty-sixth session (E/1979/36 - E/CN.4/1347). In 1980, at the thirty-sixth session of the Commission, the Working Group considered the conclusions reached by the consultations organized by UNESCO (E/CN.4/1305/Add.1) and other material communicated by UNESCO (E/CN.4/1575). It also took into account the various statements of non-governmental organizations with a consultative status in the Economic and Social Council. The Working Group made some further progress on the draft declaration and, by resolution 35 (XXXVI) of 12 March 1980, the Commission decided to continue, as a matter of highest priority, its work on this item at the thirty-seventh session in 1981(E/1980/13 - E/CN.4/1408). At the thirty-seventh session of the Commission in 1981 (E/1981/25 - E/CN.4/1475), the Working Group completed the remainder of the draft articles of the declaration. The Commission adopted the draft Declaration by resolution 20 (XXXVII) of 10 March 1981. At its 4th meeting on 14 April, the Economic and Social Council allocated the item to its Second (Social) Committee, which considered the draft declaration at the 9th and 12th to 18th meetings, on 27, 29 and 30 April, and on 1, 4 and 5 May 1981 (E/1981/C.2/SR.9, SR.12-18). At its 18th meeting, the Second (Social) Committee adopted a draft resolution, entitled “Draft Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief” and submitted it to the Council for consideration (E/1981/46 and Corr.1). The Economic and Social Council adopted the draft declaration on 8 May 1981 by resolution 1981/36 and submitted it to the General Assembly for consideration and adoption. At its thirty-sixth session in 1981, the General Assembly allocated the item entitled “Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief” to the Third Committee, which considered the draft declaration at its 27th to 37th and 43rd meetings, held from 22 to 30 October and on 2 and 9 November 1981 (A/C.3/36/SR.27-37 and 43). During the consideration in the Third Committee, the draft declaration was subject to a few modifications and an additional article VIII was added. The revised draft declaration (A/C.3/36/L.45) was adopted by the Committee without a vote on 9 November 1981 (A/36/684). On 25 November 1981, upon recommendation of the Third Committee, the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief by resolution 36/55. Text of the Resolution Selected preparatory documents Commission on Human Rights, Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, fifth session, Summary Record of the 104th meeting (E/CN.4/Sub.2/SR.104)
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