A/67/303 which occurs in various parts of the world and seems to stem from different motives. For instance, abuses are perpetrated in the name of religious or ideological truth claims, in the interest of promoting national identity or protecting societal homogeneity, or under other pretexts such as maintaining political and national security. While some undue restrictions on the rights of converts or those trying non-coercively to convert others are undertaken by State agencies, other abuses, including acts of violence, stem from widespread societal prejudices. Violations in this sensitive area also include forced conversions or reconversions, again perpetrated either by the State or by non-State actors. In addition, the rights of converts or those trying non-coercively to convert others are sometimes questioned in principle. The Special Rapporteur has therefore decided to put a thematic focus on this issue in the present report in order to contribute to a clarification of the rights of converts and those trying non-coercively to convert others as inextricable dimensions of freedom of religion or belief. 6 16. The right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief has manifold facets. In the area of conversion, at least four subcategories warrant systematic attention: (a) the right to conversion (in the sense of changing one’s own religion or belief); (b) the right not to be forced to convert; (c) the right to try to convert others by means of non-coercive persuasion; and (d) the rights of the child and of his or her parents in this regard. It is important to clearly distinguish these dimensions since they differ with respect to the precise content and degree of legal protection attached to them under international human rights law. At the same time, one should not lose sight of the close links among the various dimensions in the attempt to ensure respect for every person’s freedom of religion or belief. 7 B. International human rights framework Right to conversion (in the sense of changing one’s own religion or belief) 8 1. 17. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly guarantees the “freedom to change” one’s religion or belief as an inextricable component of the human right to freedom of religion or belief. While subsequent United Nations instruments use slightly different wording, the right to conversion remains fully protected. Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that freedom of thought, conscience and religion includes “freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of his choice”. Article 18 (2) was included partly to reinforce the protection of the right to conversion, stating that “[n]o one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of his choice”. Article 1 of the 1981 Declaration refers to everyone’s “freedom to have a religion or whatever belief of his choice”. __________________ 6 7 8 12-46130 Issues relating to conversion have already been discussed by previous mandate holders; see, for example, A/51/542/Add.1, paras. 11-12 and 134; E/CN.4/2005/61, paras. 45-47; and A/60/399, paras. 40-68. From a strictly normative perspective, there is no meaningful difference between conversion and reconversion. As part of his empirical observations, the Special Rapporteur nonetheless occasionally refers explicitly to both converts and reconverts or to acts of conversion and reconversion. In the present report, formulations like “right to conversion” or “freedom of conversion” always relate to the dimension of changing one’s own religion or belief. 7