CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE QUESTION OF RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Sixty-second session
Item 11 (e) of the provisional agenda

IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

61. The twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief will take place in 2006. Nevertheless, the Special Rapporteur notes with concern that freedom of religion or belief is not a reality for many individuals throughout the world. She hopes that this anniversary will be an occasion to reiterate the importance of promoting freedom of religion or belief and to draw attention to the evolution of the issues relating to the mandate. She encourages Governments and non-governmental organizations to support the initiatives that will be taken to organize events that will take stock of achievements since 1981, identify the provisions of the Declaration that today raise particular concern and challenge rising trends of religious intolerance.

62. While she notes that religious leaders regularly organize high-level meetings at the international level to promote inter-religious dialogue, she is concerned that Governments, which are primarily responsible for protecting people against violations of the right to
freedom of religion or belief, rarely organize intergovernmental events to discuss the rise of religious intolerance, in particular at the regional level. The Special Rapporteur encourages more intergovernmental dialogue on the issues relating to her mandate, so as to increase the involvement of the relevant policymakers.

63. The Special Rapporteur expresses her gratitude to the Governments of Sri Lanka, Nigeria and France for their cooperation during her visits during the period under review. She considers that this cooperation will eventually prove beneficial to those States because all States have an interest in improving religious tolerance and religious freedom. She therefore encourages all States to respond favourably to her requests for country visits so as to enable her to fulfil her mandate more effectively.

64. However, there is a real concern that the number of countries that do not extend invitations for in situ visits is increasing. This trend is particularly worrying because these are the countries concerning which she has received substantial allegations regarding violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur reiterates her support for a mechanism to appropriately address the situation of countries that consistently fail to cooperate with the special procedures mechanisms. She encourages States and other actors to consider this issue in the context of the efforts relating to United Nations reform. In particular, they should consider, barring those States that do not cooperate with the special procedures in the context of country visits, from consideration for membership in the new body.

65. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the responses received from Governments to the communications sent during the period under review. She reiterates the importance of initiating a dialogue with Governments on allegations of violations of the freedom of religion or belief in their countries. Accordingly, she has taken steps to improve the specificity and quality of the communications she sends to Governments by developing a framework on communications. She hopes that Governments will reciprocate by increasing their efforts to respond to her communications fully and in a timely manner, responding to the specific questions raised.

66. The Special Rapporteur has formulated a set of general criteria on religious symbols, including “neutral indicators” and “aggravating indicators”, in order to provide some guidance on the applicable human rights standards and their scope. She would like to emphasize that restrictions may not be imposed for discriminatory purposes or applied in a discriminatory manner. Limitations must be directly related and proportionate to the specific need on which they are predicated. The burden of justifying a limitation upon the freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief lies with the State. The chosen measures should promote religious tolerance and avoid stigmatizing any particular religious community. Furthermore, the principles of appropriateness and proportionality need to be thoroughly respected both by the administration and during possible legal review.

67. During the period under review, the Special Rapporteur continued to receive reports of cases or situations where persons had deliberately offended the religions of
others. She recognizes that in many of these cases, the statements or other forms of expression may have been made as a result of the exercise of the right to freedom of expression. However, she is concerned that in some cases, such forms of expression may disclose a lack of tolerance for the religion of others, which can constitute a threat to the religious harmony of a society as they are often based on stereotypes and may provoke further polarization. She intends to further develop this aspect of her mandate in her forthcoming activities.

68. Finally, noting the undisputed advantages that special procedures bring to the United Nations human rights mechanism owing to their particularities, as well as the new challenges and ever-increasing demands that they face, the Special Rapporteur strongly encourages that additional resources be allocated to the Special Procedures Branch of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In this regard, she notes that the evolving scope of cases and situations falling within her area of responsibility calls for strengthening the resources available to the mandate, including in terms of staffing.

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Annex

THE MANDATE OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR
BELIEF: FRAMEWORK FOR COMMUNICATIONS

VULNERABLE GROUPS

Women

ICCPR

Art. 5 (1): “Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms recognized herein or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the present Covenant.”

Art. 18 (3): “Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.”

CEDAW

Art. 2: “States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women and, to this end, undertake:

(a)   To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle;

(b)   To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women;

(c)    To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective protection of women against any act of discrimination;

(d)    To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation;

(e)    To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise;

(f)    To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women;

(g)   To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination against women.”

Art. 3: “States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular in the political, social, economic and cultural fields, all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men.”

ICESCR

Art. 2 (2): “The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”

1981 Declaration of the General Assembly

Art. 8: “Nothing in the present Declaration shall be construed as restricting or derogating from any right defined in the UDHR and the Covenants;”.

Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/40

5.b: In which the Commission on Human Rights invites the Special Rapporteur to address situations of violence and discrimination that affect many women as a result of religion or belief.

14: The Commission on Human Rights, “Stresses the need for the Special Rapporteur to continue to apply a gender perspective, inter alia through the identification of gender specific abuses, in the reporting process, including in information collection and in recommendations;”.

Human Rights Committee general comment 28

Para. 13: “States parties should provide information on any specific regulation of clothing to be worn by women in public. The Committee stresses that such regulations may involve a violation of a number of rights guaranteed by the Covenant, such as: article 26, on non-discrimination; article 7, if corporal punishment is imposed in order to enforce such a regulation; article 9, when failure to comply with the regulation is punished by arrest; article 12, if liberty of movement is subject to such a constraint; article 17, which guarantees all persons the right to privacy without arbitrary or unlawful interference; articles 18 and 19, when women are subjected to clothing requirements that are not in keeping with their religion or their right of self-expression; and, lastly, article 27, when the clothing requirements conflict with the culture to which the woman can lay a claim.”

Para. 19: “The right of everyone under article 16 to be recognized everywhere as a person before the law is particularly pertinent for women, who often see it curtailed by reason of sex or marital status. This right implies that the capacity of women to own property, to enter into a contract or to exercise other civil rights may not be restricted on the basis of marital status or any other discriminatory ground. It also implies that women may not be treated as objects to be given, together with the property of the deceased husband, to his family. States must provide information on laws or practices that prevent women from being treated or from functioning as full legal persons and the measures taken to eradicate laws or practices that allow such treatment.”

Para. 21: “States parties must take measures to ensure that freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the freedom to adopt the religion or belief of one’s choice - including the freedom to change religion or belief and to express one’s religion or belief - will be guaranteed and protected in law and in practice for both men and women, on the same terms and without discrimination. These freedoms, protected by article 18, must not be subject to restrictions other than those authorized by the Covenant and must not be constrained by, inter alia, rules requiring permission from third parties, or by interference from fathers, husbands, brothers or others. Article 18 may not be relied upon to justify discrimination against women by reference to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; States parties should therefore provide information on the status of women as regards their freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and indicate what steps they have taken or intend to take both to eliminate and prevent infringements of these freedoms in respect of women and to protect their right not to be discriminated against.”

VULNERABLE GROUPS
Women	ICCPR Art. 5 (1): “Nothing in the present Covenant may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms recognized herein or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the present Covenant.” Art. 18 (3): “Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.”

	CEDAW Art. 2: “States Parties condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women and, to this end, undertake: (a) To embody the principle of the equality of men and women in their national constitutions or other appropriate legislation if not yet incorporated therein and to ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle; (b) To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women; (c) To establish legal protection of the rights of women on an equal basis with men and to ensure through competent national tribunals and other public institutions the effective protection of women against any act of discrimination; (d) To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities and institutions shall act in conformity with this obligation; (e) To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise; (f) To take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women; (g) To repeal all national penal provisions which constitute discrimination against women.” Art. 3: “States Parties shall take in all fields, in particular in the political, social, economic and cultural fields, all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full development and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with men.” ICESCR Art. 2 (2): “The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to guarantee that the rights enunciated in the present Covenant will be exercised without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” 1981 Declaration of the General Assembly Art. 8: “Nothing in the present Declaration shall be construed as restricting or derogating from any right defined in the UDHR and the Covenants;”. Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/40 5.b: In which the Commission on Human Rights invites the Special Rapporteur to address situations of violence and discrimination that affect many women as a result of religion or belief. 14: The Commission on Human Rights, “Stresses the need for the Special Rapporteur to continue to apply a gender perspective, inter alia through the identification of gender specific abuses, in the reporting process, including in information collection and in recommendations;”. Human Rights Committee general comment 28 Para. 13: “States parties should provide information on any specific regulation of clothing to be worn by women in public. The Committee stresses that such regulations may involve a violation of a number of rights guaranteed by the Covenant, such as: article 26, on non-discrimination; article 7, if corporal punishment is imposed in order to enforce such a regulation; article 9, when failure to comply with the regulation is punished by arrest; article 12, if liberty of movement is subject to such a constraint; article 17, which guarantees all persons the right to privacy without arbitrary or unlawful interference; articles 18 and 19, when women are subjected to clothing requirements that are not in keeping with their religion or their right of self-expression; and, lastly, article 27, when the clothing requirements conflict with the culture to which the woman can lay a claim.” Para. 19: “The right of everyone under article 16 to be recognized everywhere as a person before the law is particularly pertinent for women, who often see it curtailed by reason of sex or marital status. This right implies that the capacity of women to own property, to enter into a contract or to exercise other civil rights may not be restricted on the basis of marital status or any other discriminatory ground. It also implies that women may not be treated as objects to be given, together with the property of the deceased husband, to his family. States must provide information on laws or practices that prevent women from being treated or from functioning as full legal persons and the measures taken to eradicate laws or practices that allow such treatment.” Para. 21: “States parties must take measures to ensure that freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the freedom to adopt the religion or belief of one’s choice - including the freedom to change religion or belief and to express one’s religion or belief - will be guaranteed and protected in law and in practice for both men and women, on the same terms and without discrimination. These freedoms, protected by article 18, must not be subject to restrictions other than those authorized by the Covenant and must not be constrained by, inter alia, rules requiring permission from third parties, or by interference from fathers, husbands, brothers or others. Article 18 may not be relied upon to justify discrimination against women by reference to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; States parties should therefore provide information on the status of women as regards their freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and indicate what steps they have taken or intend to take both to eliminate and prevent infringements of these freedoms in respect of women and to protect their right not to be discriminated against.”

CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE QUESTIONOF RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE

Annex

CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE QUESTION
OF RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE