A/HRC/19/60
and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights
and freedoms of others.12 Only can such an open and broad understanding do justice to the
real diversity existing among human beings, all of whom are rights holders in the context of
universal human rights.
C.
Fair provision of legal personality status
40.
The second dimension of “recognition” relevant in the field of freedom of religion or
belief pertains to the status of a legal personality, which religious or belief communities
may require to be able to exercise important collective functions. Many States have
registration procedures to award legal personality status to religious or belief communities.
However, some registration practices actually limit the right to freedom of religion or belief
of certain communities (see subsection 1 below), thus leading to huge difficulties for
organizing their community life with a long-term perspective (see subsection 2).
Consequently, it seems vital that the State implements any existing registration procedures
in a fair and non-discriminatory manner and in the service of the human right to freedom of
religion or belief (see subsection 3).
1.
Issues pertaining to registration procedures
41.
Freedom of religion or belief is a right held by all human beings because of their
inherent dignity. According to article 18, paragraph 1 of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights this includes the freedom, “either individually or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest [their] religion or belief in worship, observance,
practice and teaching”. The possibility of engaging in various forms of community
activities thus clearly falls within the scope of freedom of religion or belief. Thus
registration should not be compulsory, i.e. it should not be a precondition for practising
one‟s religion, but only for the acquisition of a legal personality status. Some of the
collective activities of religious or belief communities typically require the status of a legal
personality in the sense of becoming recognized as a legal entity with corporative legal
responsibilities and corporative legal options.
42.
While the axiomatic status position of human beings as rights holders in the area of
freedom of religion or belief has a normative rank prior to, and independent of, any
administrative procedures, some such procedures are generally required as a prerequisite
for groups obtaining the status of a legal personality. For instance, those wishing to be
registered as a legal personality typically have to provide some certified information about
membership, organization, the purpose of the group or the structure of internal
responsibility. This sort of information may be needed for the administration to take a
decision on the attribution of legal personality status.
43.
Such an administrative decision should not be misconceived as an act of mercy,
however. Under international law, States are obliged to take an active role in facilitating the
full enjoyment of human rights, including freedom of religion or belief. By not providing
appropriate legal options that, de jure and de facto, are accessible to all religious or belief
groups interested in obtaining a legal personality status, States would fail to honour their
obligations under the human right to freedom of religion or belief.
12
12
See reports on the implementation of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance
and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, E/CN.4/1990/46, para. 110, and E/CN.4/1997/91,
para. 99; and report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, A/HRC/4/21, paras.
43–47.