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6. Migrant workers
36. Article 12 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families mirrors the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion as provided for in article 18 of ICCPR. The population of many countries features a
considerable number of migrant workers and their vulnerable situation requires special attention.
The Special Rapporteur is concerned by several limitations placed on the right of migrant
workers and members of their families to manifest their religion or belief. For example,
foreigners who do not belong to the major religion in one country, are not allowed to build
places of worship or carry out prayers or religious rituals outside of their homes. The Special
Rapporteur noted that many limitations are implemented as a matter of practice rather than a
matter of law and consequently they may fail to comply with article 18 (3) of ICCPR which
requires that any limitation on the right to manifest one’s freedom of religion or belief must be
prescribed by law. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur questions to what extent these
limitations are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals or the fundamental
rights and freedoms of others. The Special Rapporteur would like to emphasize that all persons
within a particular country, and not just the citizens of that country, have the right to freedom of
religion or belief, including the right to manifest that belief.
D. Intersection of freedom of religion or belief with other human rights
37. Human rights are exercised in a context where rights coexist with each other. In this
regard, most international human rights conventions provide that, in the exercise of their human
rights, individuals have to respect the rights of others. However, the coexistence of rights does
not only imply that rights should be seen in a restrictive manner because of the existence of other
rights; it also implies the fundamental notion of interdependency of human rights. This is
emphasized by the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World
Conference on Human Rights in 1993, which proclaimed that “[a]ll human rights are universal,
indivisible and interdependent and interrelated”.
1.
Freedom of expression including questions related to religious
conflicts, religious intolerance and extremism
38. The intersection of freedom of religion or belief with other human rights can be illustrated
by the relationship to freedom of expression. In response to the offensive publication of
representations of the Prophet Muhammad by the media in some countries starting in late 2005,
the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, the Special Rapporteur for the
promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression as well as the Special
Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance issued a joint press release.4 The three mandate holders recalled that religion or
belief, for anyone who professes either, is one of the fundamental elements in his or her
4
“Human Rights Experts call for tolerance and dialogue in wake of controversy over
representations of Prophet Muhammad”, UNOG press release HR06006E of 8 February 2006,
full text available online at http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/
(httpNewsByYear_en)/54A59D88BFD753FBC125710F005B08A4?OpenDocument.