ven if freedom of conscience – and consequently religious freedom – had not already been proclaimed by Article 18 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it remains a fundamental human right, intrinsically indivisible and inseparable from the right to live; it is the Respect for Life.
In a civilised and intellectually developed society, morals, ethics and even pure common sense should have been sufficient for men and nations to accept each other’s convictions and differences.
Unfortunately, dark forces – created either by outdated obscurantism or by the
alienating myths of single-minded beliefs – have endeavoured in recent years to multiply verbal, legal and even physical onslaughts against schools of thought whose only fault is to believe differently or to represent relative minorities.
The Gospel summons “woe unto those through whom offenses come.” The offense is not that there are groups which believe differently from others, or minorities struggling for their specific identities. The offense is that intolerance should covertly or overtly attempt to destroy spiritual freedom or to reduce freedom of conscience to a very narrowly delimited arena.
In such a context, the existence of international legal mechanisms acquires crucial importance. Primarily, they constitute moral reference points, but above all, they serve as self-defense tools for any school of thought fighting against all forms of intolerance.
It must also be emphasized that in international law, any legal document adopted at the international level takes immediate priority over any national document, independently of whether the latter is law, a regulation or a court decision.
It is high time for nations to stop the practise of signing international documents with one hand, while the other hand repudiates them with the utmost illegality and immorality.
It is high time for the ordinary citizen to realise that he can defend his rights on the basis of international, European and other agreements.
The editors of the present manual have therefore performed a useful service. Their publication represents a genuine and practical guide book which will prove very valuable to persons of all convictions, faiths, beliefs and religions. The believers of so-called minority faiths will find in it support for their own defense. Those belonging to other schools of thought may use it to concretely express their active solidarity.
The fact that this book is published by Scientology researchers in association with
religious and human rights organisations should establish it as an example of a common right shared by all beliefs. The Church of Scientology – to which I do not belong – has the same rights as any religion and like any religion, its convictions are protected under any objective definition of Human Rights.
The path toward enlightenment is still long and arduous. Each step forward, each development will have its importance. Let us therefore exercise vigilance, solidarity and brotherhood: if we do not, ecumenism and tolerance will remain hollow terms.
Professor Francis Dessart, Ph.D. • Chairman, Commission on Human Rights and Religious Freedom • Permanent IAEWP Representative at UNESCO. • Fellow, World Academy of Arts & Sciences (WAAS)
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