A/76/380 rights provisions. 9 The European Court of Human Rights similarly sidesteps engagement with the freedom. 10 While the freedom is recognized in more than 100 national constitutions, the formulation and regulation thereof are not consistent. 11 5. Increasingly, commentators and rights holders who are drawing attention to this “forgotten freedom” 12 highlight significant pressures facing freedom of thought, both existing and emerging, the implications of which are not always understood. Stakeholders report, for example, that State and non-State actors use problematic practices to alter thoughts, including through re-education programmes, torture, coercive proselytism, anti-conversion measures and involuntary treatment for purported mental health conditions. 6. Others emphasize major developments in digital technology, neuroscience and cognitive psychology that could potentially enable access to the very content of our thoughts and affect how we think, feel and behave. Despite their nascent nature, commentators note that the advancing design and increasingly widespread use of these technologies raise pertinent questions for policymakers, among others, about how to protect forum internum rights, including freedom of thought. 7. The present report explores what “freedom of thought” means as a universal human right and endeavours to provide practical guidance to rights holders and duty bearers on how to respect, protect and promote it. To that end, the Special Rapporteur draws on jurisprudence and the research and perspectives of diverse stakeholders. The report does not conclusively resolve debates over what constitutes “thought” or “freedom of thought”, but rather is the first attempt to comprehensively articulate the right’s content and scope in the United Nations system. II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 8. From mid-July 2020 to mid-July 2021, the Special Rapporteur addressed 56 communications to States and non-State actors, expressing his concern over violations of freedom of religion or belief. The Special Rapporteur undertook several follow-up activities to his previous reports on combating antisemitism (A/74/358); gender-based violence and discrimination in the name of religion or belief (A/HRC/43/48); the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/75/385); the relationship between freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief (A/HRC/40/58); countering Islamophobia/anti-Muslim hatred (A/HRC/46/30); and his country visits to Sri Lanka (A/HRC/43/48/Add.2) and Uzbekistan (A/HRC/37/49/Add.2). He collaborated with the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect on implementing the United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, as well as with the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He worked with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations to advance the Global Pledge for Action by Religious Actors and Faith-Based Organizations to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic in Collaboration with the United Nations, 13 and with the Ralph Bunche Institute for __________________ 9 10 11 12 13 4/28 Twice, the Human Rights Committee deemed it unnecessary to consider freedom of thought after finding a violation of freedom of expression: see CCPR/C/84/D/1119/2002, para. 7.4; and CCPR/C/64/D/628/1995, para. 10.5. See, e.g., Riera Blume and Others v Spain. See https://www.wisdomperiodical.com/index.php/wisdom/article/view/310. See https://brill.com/view/journals/ejcl/8/2-3/article-p226_226.xml?rskey=7hFYVs&result=98, pp. 2–3. See https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Religion/GlobalPledgeAction.pdf . 21-14191