A/HRC/28/66 religion or those who follow interpretations deemed “deviant” may be publicly attacked as “infidels”, “apostates” or “heretics”; some State may even exercise pressure in order to forcibly convert them to the official religion of the country. 33. On the other hand, there is an even broader group of States, including formally secular States, which promote a particular religious heritage as an inherent part of their national identity, without resorting to specific truth claims. Such national heritage can either consist of one religion, which has largely shaped the national history, or comprise a number of different religions or beliefs, which are officially recognized as constituting the “traditional religious mosaic” of the nation. In fact, the fault lines resulting from harnessing religion for the promotion of national identity often run between “traditional” and “nontraditional” religions, including religions or beliefs of immigrants. Individuals or groups perceived as not fitting into the traditional self-understanding of the nation may be suspected of undermining national cohesion or even acting as fifth columns in the interest of “foreign powers” or “foreign donors”. 34. Policies of exclusion are often manifested in hostile public statements made by populist politicians, usually in conjunction with incitement to religious hatred in the media. Sometimes, even very small minorities are demonized as allegedly posing a dangerous threat to the long-term survival of the nation, or they are accused of being involved in clandestine conspiracies. The Special Rapporteur has often noted a pronounced gender dimension in hate speech, for example, the stoked fear of far-reaching demographic changes allegedly in a strategic attempt of minorities to get the upper hand in the long run, and as a result of a hyperbolic sexual drive ascribed to members of religious minorities, who thereby are depicted as “primitive”. LGBT people have also been falsely portrayed in religious discourse as “threatening” the survival of a nation or being part of a “conspiracy” to control population growth. 35. Policies of exclusion may also manifest themselves in formal acts of administration or legislation. For instance, unwelcome religious minorities may confront insuperable obstacles when trying to obtain a legal personality status without which they cannot develop an infrastructure needed for running their community affairs in a sustainable manner. Sometimes the very existence of such communities in a country is deemed “illegal”. As a result, people belonging to such discriminated minorities typically suffer systematic harassment and intimidation. A factor that further increases the likelihood of harassment is anti-blasphemy laws or anti-proselytism laws, which may threaten criminal punishments for vaguely circumscribed “offences”. Countless examples demonstrate that such laws disproportionately affect minorities. Meanwhile, they may encourage selfappointed vigilante groups to commit acts of violent aggression, frequently with direct or indirect support by law enforcement agencies. 4. Impunity, trivialization and the culture of silence 36. A major problem underneath violence in the name of religion is a culture of impunity that exists in quite a number of countries. Often, victims and their families report that the authorities do not provide efficient protection, that police reach the scene of violence late or become bystanders watching the places of worship being torched or people attacked by an aggressive mob. It is not always clear whether impunity results from a lack of capacity or even reflects a certain degree of complicity by parts of the State apparatus. 37. An additional factor that further aggravates the situation is the tendency of certain Governments to ignore or downplay the systemic root causes of violence in the name of religion. When addressing the issue, they may trivialize it as “sporadic incidents” allegedly caused by a few irresponsible individuals, without acknowledging the broader structural or political dimension of the issue. Official statistics displaying the frequency and patterns of violence, including disaggregated data on the underlying motives, often do not exist. 9