Does the United States have the right to tell other countries what to do about freedom of religion? Is this an attempt to force American values on others or to interfere in their internal affairs?
If the United States and another country sign an arms-control agreement, or an environmental agreement, or a trade agreement, all parties to the agreement have the right to ensure that the other parties are fulfilling their commitments. The same is equally true for human rights agreements, including those referring to freedom of religion. The United States is not trying to force other countries to adopt American values; it is encouraging them to live up to the commitments to protect religious freedom that they have made in international agreements such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Likewise, other signatories to those agreements have the same right. The “internal affairs” argument used by authoritarian and totalitarian regimes dissolves when those governments undertake international commitments.
Related Questions
- Does the United States have the right to tell other countries what to do about freedom of religion? Is this an attempt to force American values on others or to interfere in their internal affairs?
- Why is religion so prominent in the United States compared to other developed countries?
- Are there countries enjoying more freedom than the United States?
