La Dichiarazione universale e l’evoluzione della tutela internazionale della libertà religiosa

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Evolution of the International Protection of Religious Freedom. – The provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights concerning religious freedom, the right of parents to choose the kind of education for their children, and the relevant limitation clause have influenced the scope and content of the rules set forth in subsequent binding instruments, as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention for the Safeguard of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the American Convention on Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The Chapter aims at assessing the role of the Universal Declaration in the drafting of each of these treaties, alongside highlighting any difference in the wording of the final version of the corresponding articles. Subsequently, the chapter analyses the opposing stance of, on the one hand, the European Court and, on the other, the UN Human Rights Committee in relation to the prohibition of wearing religious symbols. The ultimate purpose is appraising whether such conflicting approaches have either fostered or lessened the standard of protection originally recognized under the 1948 Universal Declaration.