Cognitive liberty is not currently recognized as a human right by any international human rights treaty. While freedom of thought is recognized by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), freedom of thought can be distinguished from cognitive liberty in that the former is concerned with protecting an individual's freedom to think "whatever" they want, whereas cognitive liberty is concerned with protecting an individual's freedom to think "however" they want. Cognitive liberty seeks to protect an individual's right to determine their own state of mind and be free from external control over their state of mind, rather than just protecting the content of an individuals’ thoughts.