A/62/280 65. At the beginning of his Study of Discrimination in the Matter of Religious Rights and Practices (1960), Arcot Krishnaswami, the Special Rapporteur of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, included an explanatory footnote: “In view of the difficulty of defining ‘religion’, the term ‘religion or belief’ is used in this study to include, in addition to various theistic creeds, such other beliefs as agnosticism, free thought, atheism and rationalism.” 30 Article I (a) of the draft international convention on the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance provided a similar, albeit shorter, definition whereby the expression “religion or belief” should include “theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs”. 31 66. This formulation was then taken up by the Human Rights Committee in its general comment No. 22 (1993) and combined with the additional statement that article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also protects the “right not to profess any religion or belief” (para. 2). During the elaboration of this general comment, the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the working group, Vojin Dimitrijevic, underlined that the concept of belief was very important but also difficult to define and consequently care must be taken to employ suitable wording. Eventually, the general comment stated that the terms “belief” and “religion” are to be broadly construed and that “[a]rticle 18 is not limited in its application to traditional religions or to religions and beliefs with institutional characteristics or practices analogous to those of traditional religions” (para. 2). 67. This approach was also adopted by the Special Rapporteur, who in several reports (most recently in A/HRC/4/21, para. 46) referred to the formulation of “theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs”. Theism is the belief in the existence of one supernatural being (monotheism) or several divinities (polytheism), whereas a non-theist is someone who does not accept a theistic understanding of deity. Atheism is the critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in spiritual beings. In order to make the belief aspect of the mandate more apparent, the second mandate holder, Abdelfattah Amor, suggested that the initial title of “Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance” should be changed to “Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief”. In this regard, Mr. Amor explicitly named agnosticism, freethinking, atheism and rationalism as examples of “belief” (see E/CN.4/1998/6, para. 105). By endorsing the suggested change of title, the Commission on Human Rights, in resolution 2000/33, 32 confirmed that the mandate encompasses not only religions but also beliefs. The new title, “Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief”, acknowledges the fact that some beliefs explicitly deny the religious approach of theism. __________________ 30 31 32 07-48490 United Nations publication, Sales No. 60.XIV.2, Introduction, note 1. See E/CN.4/920, annex II, p. 2. The text of the draft international convention on the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance (see Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, Forty-second Session, Supplement No. 6 (E/4322), chap. II and E/CN.4/920) was adopted by the Commission on Human Rights at its twenty-first, twenty-second and twenty-third sessions, held from 1965 to 1967. However, the General Assembly subsequently decided to defer consideration of this draft convention. See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2000, Supplement No. 23 and Corrigendum (E/2000/23 and Corr.1), chap. II, sect. A. 19