Legal Basis of the Protection of Children’s Religious Rights in International Human Rights Law

Abstract:
In universal and regional international legal documents relating to children in specie (above all: The Declaration on the Rights of the Child, The Convention on the Rights of the Child) and in genere (above all: The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), freedom of religion is recognised as a fundamental right that also applies to children. Children have the right to profess their religion in accordance with their beliefs, and states have a duty to ensure that this right is respected and protected. The aim of the study is to present and compare the most important guarantees concerning the freedom of religion of the child contained in the acts of international law of universal and regional character. The analysis consists of issues concerning the core values (ideas) underlying the protection of children’s freedom of religion in selected international human rights instruments (universal and regional), personal scope, subject matter, limitations on a child’s exercise of freedom of religion, and measures to protect a child’s freedom of religion.

Keywords: child, Convention on the Rights of the Child, freedom of religion, human rights