Protection of freedom of religion of forced migrants by the current international law

Abstract

As in the Old Testament, people are forced today as well to escape for the sake of preserving their lives, beliefs, etc. However, if in ancientry only local legal norms existed in respect of the protection of such escapees, contemporary international law has a significant degree of universality and creates a sufficiently broad basis for their legal protection. Religious issues often arise in the context of forced migration. This article is focused on the problems that arise at the intersection of the human right to freedom of religion and forced territorial movement of persons, from the perspective of contemporary international law. Three main points of intersection between freedom of religion or belief and forced migration were identified: the desire to preserve one’s faith as a cause of flight, the protection of freedom of religion in the territory of asylum, freedom of religion in the context of durable solutions to the problems of forced migrants. For each aspect, the international legal framework is reviewed and presented, and examples are provided to illustrate the situation that is far from being serene in practice. Where possible, attention is paid to the problems faced by Christians. The main material is preceded with background information both about religion and forced migration in the world.