A/HRC/19/60/Add.1 modern society. This includes new religious movements, small denominations and, to a certain degree, non-religious convictions that are, however, reportedly still seen as something quite unusual by parts of the population. 26. The Government contributes actively to the society’s atmosphere of openness and religious tolerance by promoting interreligious communication. One example is the Permanent Interreligious Dialogue Forum (Foro Permanante de Diálogo Interreligioso), set up in 2009 by the Ministry of Education and Culture and which includes adherents of about 115 different denominations. The Forum, which meets four times a year, can also informally advise the Government. According to information received from the Ministry of Education and Culture, participating groups range from the Catholic Church to religious minority groups, as well as atheists and agnostics. 27. During meetings held outside the capital, the Special Rapporteur received positive comments by members of religious communities on the initiative to establish the Permanent Interreligious Dialogue Forum. Nevertheless, for those in the regions, it is unclear how the Forum functions, and there is little awareness about its work and functioning. 28. Despite the tangible and credible human rights commitment of the Government and the general atmosphere of religious tolerance in society, the problems posed by the implementation of human rights in Paraguay also have a bearing on the situation of freedom of religion or belief. As mentioned above, many of these problems originate from a combination of extreme inequalities in power in society on the one hand, and insufficient human rights implementation mechanisms on the other. As a result, members of minorities receive little protection against social pressure or discrimination in situations of structural vulnerability. This can lead to infringements of the right to manifest one’s religious or belief conviction and even to situations where people find themselves exposed to religious indoctrination by comparatively powerful social agents. This problem is apparently even further compounded in remote areas where State institutions are largely absent. The situation of indigenous people in this regard warrants special attention (see paragraphs 45 to 53 below). C. Elements of State religion in a secular State 29. Although Paraguay is now constitutionally a secular State, some elements of the tradition of Catholicism as religion of the State have apparently survived. For instance, in the police and the military, some official ceremonies continue to be based, de facto and de jure,3 on the Catholic faith. According to information provided by the National Ombudsman, few if any complaints have been lodged against this practice. Nonetheless, it seems plausible that members of the police or the military may feel under pressure to participate in ceremonies based on a religion that is not their own. 30. Members of civil society organizations also reported on incidents of pressure being put on school students to participate in religious practice during school ceremonies. In some cases, this allegedly even included the expectation of an active performance of religious rites, such as the taking of Holy Communion by non-Catholic pupils. Moreover, the presence of religious symbols in classrooms of public schools seems to be a widespread reality. Again, formal complaints apparently have never been lodged, which makes it difficult to assess the overall situation. 31. The Special Rapporteur would like to reiterate in this context that freedom of religion or belief also includes the “negative” right not to be pressured, especially by the 3 See National Police Regulation of Ceremonies and Protocol (noted in paragraph 14), arts. 97 and 99. 9