Introduction : Religious Freedom and Religious Minorities in Contemporary Europe and Beyond

Współautorstwo: Hacohen, Aviad

Freedom of Religion, Minority Rights and the Law : The Status of Jewish and Muslim Minorities in Europe and Beyond / edited by Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias and Aviad Hacohen. London : Routledge, 2025, s. 1-15.

Strengthening the Protection of Religious Minorities by Establishing a New Universal Human Rights Treaty : A Necessary or Redundant Effort?

Freedom of Religion, Minority Rights and the Law : The Status of Jewish and Muslim Minorities in Europe and Beyond / edited by Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias and Aviad Hacohen. London : Routledge, 2025, s. 53-77.

Calls for the adoption of an international treaty dedicated to countering discrimination and hatred on the basis of religion – an instrument analogous to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) – have appeared regularly for several decades. They are the aftermath of an unsuccessful attempt to establish such a treaty when the ICERD was being formulated in the 1960s. Although preparations for the enactment of the “twin” conventions proceeded in parallel, works on the one with a religious dimension only concluded with the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981 Resolution), adopted by the UN General Assembly. Since then, the question remains open of whether the standard of protection against religious discrimination and hatred is adequate, or whether it needs to be strengthened or thoroughly redefined and supplemented in the face of continuing threats to the rights and freedoms of vulnerable groups, which include religious minorities and individuals persecuted because of their religion or belief. At the same time, an important element of the ongoing discussions is the need to protect individuals who, by manifesting their opposition to certain religious practices, for example, are exposed to harassment and persecution. In the face of conflicts over the scope of protection to be granted to religions as such (including their sacred symbols, books, or prophets) and controversies relating to the contradiction between certain religious practices or dogmas and the prohibition of religious discrimination, the probability of reaching a consensus in such a sensitive area is low, and the eventual treaty could even turn out to be less meaningful (in terms of its scope) than the existing 1981 Declaration. The proposed chapter is thus intended to present the most important arguments “for” and “against” establishing a new treaty on religious discrimination and hatred, though without aspiring to give exhaustive or prejudging answers.

The research conducted for this chapter has been funded by the Polish National Science Centre (Grant No. 2019/33/B/HS5/01634).

Ochrona grup wrażliwych przed antysemicką i antyromską dyskryminacją i nienawiścią jako zobowiązanie państwa w ocenie Europejskiego Trybunału Praw Człowieka oraz Europejskiej Komisji przeciwko Rasizmowi i Nietolerancji

Europejski Przegląd Sądowy 2025, nr 6, s. 19-24.

W lutym 2021 r. Europejski Trybunał Praw Człowieka wydał dwa w pewnym sensie bliźniacze, bo odnoszące się do tych samych faktów i uznające te same naruszenia Konwencji o ochronie praw człowieka i podstawowych wolności, wyroki przeciwko Bułgarii. Dotyczą one zakresu pozytywnych obowiązków państwa do zapewnienia właściwej ochrony przed antysemicką i antyromską dyskryminacją i nienawiścią. Konkludując, ETPC uznał, że nienawistne treści w realny sposób mogły wpływać na poczucie własnej wartości i tożsamości osób pochodzenia żydowskiego oraz romskiego jako całych społeczności, a w konsekwencji naruszać ich prawo do prywatności, jak również zakaz dyskryminacji. Orzeczenia w wyrokach ETPC 29335/13, Behar i Gutman, oraz 12567/13, Budinova i Chaprazov, podkreślają kolektywny wymiar naruszeń praw i wolności i mają przełożenie na sformułowanie pozytywnych zobowiązań państw, co stanowi o wyjątkowym charakterze tych decyzji Trybunału w Strasburgu. Jednocześnie to podejście ETPC znajduje odzwierciedlenie w stanowiskach Europejskiej Komisji przeciwko Rasizmowi i Nietolerancji Rady Europy (European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, ECRI), wspólnie tworząc rozszerzony europejski standard ochrony praw człowieka.

In February 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, the Court) issued two „twin” judgments against Bulgaria, relating to the same facts and recognising the same violations of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. They concern the scope of the state’s positive obligations to afford adequate protection against anti-Semitic and anti-Roma discrimination and hatred. In conclusion, the ECtHR found that hateful statements were actually capable of having an impact on the feeling of self-worth and on the sense of identity of people of Jewish and Roma origin as whole communities, and thus violate their right to protection of private life, as well as the prohibition of discrimination. The ECtHR judgments in Behar and Gutman (29335/13) and Budinova and Chaprazov (12567/13) cases emphasise a collective dimension of violations of rights and freedoms, and give rise to states’ positive obligations, which is what makes these decisions of the Strasbourg Court unique. At the same time, the approach adopted by the ECtHR is reflected in the position of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe, collectively establishing an extended European standard of human rights protection.

The research, the results of which are presented in this article, were carried out within the framework of the research grant „Protection of vulnerable groups under international human rights law” (UMO 2019/33/B/HS5/01634), awarded by the National Science Centre.

Redakcja:

Freedom of Religion, Minority Rights and the Law : The Status of Jewish and Muslim Minorities in Europe and Beyond

Współredaktorstwo: Hacohen, Aviad

London : Routledge, 2025

ISBN 9781032696911; 9781032729770; 9781003423294

XXIX, [1], 337 stron.

This book provides an in-depth, scholarly reflection on the challenges that arise in guaranteeing religious freedom and protection of the rights of religious minorities in law and practice. Currently, the protection of religious minorities constitutes one of the foundations of the international human rights protection systems and is provided for in the constitutions of all democratic states. The volume identifies, analyses, and assesses the legal status of religious freedom and protection of religious minorities, with special focus on Jewish and Muslim minorities in the European and Israeli legal environments. It compares the discourses on the scope and boundaries of religious freedom with the actual treatment of religious freedom in legal regulations, the case law, and in practice by the general society. The book employs the resources of comparative law and national and international law, as well as legal theory. Extensive use is also made of decisions of the international courts, including the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union. The book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and policymakers working in the areas of law and religion, international human rights law, comparative constitutional law, and religious studies.