Religious freedom

The importance of religious freedom is emphasized in the preamble of the Universal Declaration and it is guaranteed under Article 18 which states: "Any person has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change religion or belief and freedom to manifest religion or belief, alone or in community with others and in public or private, teaching, practice, worship and observance ". A UN Declaration on Religious Intolerance described the discrimination as "an affront to human dignity" and insists that it constitutes a denial of the principles of the UN Charter, a violation of' human rights and fundamental freedoms and, of course, is ofcourse a threat to peace and international security. These principles of equality before the law and non-discrimination are of fundamental importance so that they are regarded as principles of international law, urging all civilized nations.