Constitutions and Religious Minorities - Safeguarding the Rights of Religious Minorities

This paper discusses the role of constitutions and opportunities provided by constitution-drafting in democratic consolidation with respect to the protection of religious minorities. The author takes the position that the constitution-drafting process is a rare opportunity for a detailed discussion between the state and its people, which can give rise to important give-and-takes that could result in both short-term conflict resolution and long-term stability of state institutions. The paper also briefly examines international standards related to religious minorities, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination. The paper ends by presenting the case of Indonesia as an example of how religious minorities can be accommodated.