A/HRC/22/51 construction plans end up destroying sacred sites of religious minorities or indigenous peoples.32 (h) Obstacles against religious rituals or ceremonies 49. Persons belonging to minorities may have difficulties when wishing to perform rituals that they consider as essentially belonging to their religious identities. This includes rituals of religious socialization of children, for example male circumcision. 33 Members of religious minorities may also face administrative obstacles when holding processions or celebrating religious ceremonies in public. A number of governments pursue unduly restrictive policies in this regard, sometimes with reference to unspecified “public order” interests at variance with the criteria enshrined in article 18(3) of the International Covenant. It also happens that public ceremonies or gatherings are disrupted by the police or by non-State actors with the police merely standing by, thus conveying the impression that State authorities do not care or even implicitly approve of such acts. 34 Furthermore, funerals have been disrupted by crowds of people who claim that the cemeteries, albeit owned by the municipality, should be reserved for the adherents of the predominant religion and not be used by “heretics”. As a result, persons from religious minorities at times cannot bury their dead family members in a quiet, dignified way.35 (i) Threats and acts of violence against members of religious minorities 50. Acts of violence against members of religious minorities, perpetrated by States or non-State actors, have unfortunately included cases of torture, ill-treatment, abductions, involuntary disappearances and other atrocities. They can occur spontaneously or be orchestrated by political leaders who exploit and further stoke existing stereotypes, prejudices and paranoia for political gains. The motives may be manifold and include “taking revenge” for natural disasters, national traumas or political failures mysteriously blamed on minorities or alleged self-defence against foreign powers supposedly represented by some minority groups as their “fifth columns”. Violence may also be used to preserve the hegemony of the predominant religion of the country against unwelcome competitors or immigrants.36 In addition, acts of violence are perpetrated with the purpose of expelling minorities from the country, 37 or of intimidating and blackmailing them, for instance to 32 33 34 35 36 37 In Guatemala, concerns were raised regarding the construction of condominiums over Maya Tulam Tzu, an important cultural site used for religious ceremonies (A/HRC/4/21/Add.1, paras. 159-167). In Australia, concern was expressed at the destruction of a sacred indigenous rock art complex, housing hundreds of sacred sites for indigenous peoples in Dampier Archipelago (A/HRC/7/10/Add.1, paras. 4-10). In Germany, a decision of the district court of Cologne of 7 May 2012 triggered a partially aggressive debate on the legal permissibility of religiously motivated male circumcision of children. However, the German Federal Parliament called on the Federal Government to present a draft law in the autumn of 2012, stressing that Jewish and Muslim religious life must continue to be possible in Germany (CCPR/C/DEU/Q/6/Add.1, para. 86); the Federal Parliament adopted the law in December 2012. In Eritrea, a wedding ceremony was disrupted with the arrest of 30 evangelical Christians; ultimately they were released after signing a document promising not to participate in such events in future (E/CN.4/2005/61/Add.1, para. 96). Country visit report on the Republic of Moldova (A/HRC/19/60/Add.2, para. 37). Concerns were raised at the assertion that members of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar were treated as illegal immigrants and stateless persons and it was stressed that the inter-communal violence in Rakhine State must not become an opportunity to permanently remove an unwelcome community (www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12716&LangID=E). In Indonesia, Shi’as and Ahmadiyah communities face persistent challenges of harassment and attacks (A/HRC/22/67). Furthermore, the President of the National Islamic Council in Guinea-Bissau appealed to the authorities to expel the Ahmadiyah community from the country (A/HRC/4/21/Add.1, 15