A/HRC/43/48/Add.2 39. Attacks on places of worship and the disruption of prayer sessions of religious minorities are not recent phenomena, as in the case of the desecration of an Islamic Sufi shrine in Anuradhapura in 2011, the removal of the Hindu Shivan shrine in Illangaithurai Muhathuwaram (also known as Lanka Patuna) and the construction of a Buddhist statue in its place, the relocation of Jumma Mosque in Dambulla in 2012, and the disruption of prayer services at the Church of the Foursquare Gospel in Kalutara in 2011. 30 In addition, in 2016, the Special Rapporteur on minority issues and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern about the cases of desecration of places of worship, disruptions to religious services, denials of building permits to construct religious buildings and denials of burials in public cemeteries of members of ethnic or religious minorities (see A/HRC/34/53/Add.3 and CERD/C/LKA/CO/10–17). 40. The right to manifest one’s religion or belief includes the right to worship in public and in community with others, and the right to construct and maintain places of worship for this purpose, as provided in article 18 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and in article 6 (a) of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. In paragraph 4 of general comment No. 22, the Human Rights Committee further elaborates that the concept of worship extends to ritual and ceremonial acts giving direct expression to belief, as well as various practices integral to such acts, including the building of places of worship. The Special Rapporteur would like to underline the fact that registration is not a prerequisite for the exercise of the right to worship but an offer by the State to enable any religious community to acquire legal personality for various operational and functional purposes. The right to practise and manifest one’s religion or belief in worship and in maintaining places of worship is not subject to permission by any State. D. Religious education 41. The education system in Sri Lanka remains divided by ethnicity or language. In terms of the medium of instruction, there are 6,332 Sinhala-only schools and 3,009 Tamilonly schools. A further 558 schools use Sinhala and English, and 173 schools use Tamil and English. Schools of mixed ethnicities and religions are much fewer in comparison: there are only 75 mixed Sinhala and Tamil schools, and 47 mixed Sinhala, Tamil and English schools.31 The Select Committee of Parliament noted in its interim report that the current ethnicity-based school identification system created divisions in society and did not facilitate interaction among children of different ethnic groups, and perpetuated misunderstanding among communities. 42. Religious communities are free to run schools and classes to teach their religions. The Government funds and supports religious schools by the Buddhist community while those run by other religious communities are privately funded. 43. Religious instruction is compulsory in both public and private schools, and no student may receive an exemption. While parents may choose to have their children study Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism or Christianity, there must be at least 15 students within the school for the chosen subject. All schools teaching the Sri Lankan Ordinary Level syllabus must use the Ministry of Education curriculum on religion, which covers the four main religions and is compulsory for the General Certificate Education Ordinary Level exams. 32 44. The Special Rapporteur would like to stress that religious education in schools must be provided in an objective and neutral manner, and the Government must offer the option of exemption in a non-discriminatory manner (A/70/286, paras. 47–70). The State should respect the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions, as provided by article 18 (4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This includes respecting those who do not profess a religion or belief. 30 31 32 See communication LKA 2/2012. See www.statistics.gov.lk/education/School%20Census%20Report_2017.pdf. See www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SRI-LANKA-2018-INTERNATIONALRELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf. 9