Article 18 affords wide-ranging protections to ‘freedom of thought, conscience, and religion’. It thus protects not only religion, but a range of other beliefs, as well as the right not to subscribe to religious beliefs at all. It is not only a right of individuals, but also a collective right of religious communities and religious groups. It includes not only private belief, but also the public expression of belief in civil society and the public sphere. It is not merely a right to believe and to worship, but also inextricably linked to rights of speech, expression, assembly, association and education, alongside the rights to religious practice and observance. These concerns and others were manifest at the Commonwealth gathering, as Parliamentarians discussed frankly both the problems of recognising and speaking out on behalf of FoRB in their societies, but also the urgent need to do so to prevent conflict and promote security and development in their home countries and around the Commonwealth.