International Legal Aspects of Resolving Religious Counflicts in Multinational Societies

Religious clashes are an everlasting menace to the global tranquility and natural freedoms and interethnic stability of multicultural countries. However, in societies characterized by ethnic, cultural, and confessional richness and diversity, the religious plurality more often than not, if not almost always, grows into a functional engine of systemic discrimination, violence and spoliation of human rights. This paper evaluates freedom of religion and belief rights in the context of the international law, stressing the ability of the law to prevent and resolve intergroup (especially, religious) conflict in multiethnic societies. This conclusion follows from a close study of significant global and regional texts — the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, for example — as well as international case law and UN practices. This article examines variations in national uptake of international standards and the obstacles to their conversion and implementation, using a comparative case study of India, Nigeria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The findings highlight a multi-layered approach that involves legal, institutional, and educational levels. It concludes with some tangible recommendations to strengthen the global jurisprudence of making compelling cases for freedoms of worship to be much better mitigated and countered in different and very fragile settings.