E/CN.4/2004/63/Add.1
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label “sects”. He calls on the Georgian authorities to take action to have such passages
removed from schoolbooks as swiftly as possible or, if this is infeasible, to withdraw the
books and substitute others that do not contain incitements to religious intolerance.
123. The Special Rapporteur also wishes to stress that religious tolerance can only be
acquired if people learn from their earliest childhood about the existence and distinctive
characteristics of other religious or faith-based communities. Most situations of religious
intolerance, those in Georgia included, stem from ignorance. The Special Rapporteur
refers the Georgian Government to the final document of the International Consultative
Conference on School Education in relation to Freedom of Religion and Belief, Tolerance
and Non-Discrimination held in Madrid from 23 to 25 November 2001, and urges it to put
into practice all the recommendations given there.
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