A/71/269 Interim report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief Summary In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, provides an overview of his mandated activities since the submission of his previous report to the General Assembly ( A/70/286). Thematically, the focus of the report is on the broad range of violations of freedom of religion or belief and their manifold root causes, as well as additional variables, including from a gender perspective, which need to be taken into account for an appropriate analysis of the problems. The aim of the report is to sensitize readers to the broad range of violations, many of which do not attract adequate, if any, public attention. Governments are obliged to take effective measu res to prevent violations of freedom of religion or belief, including abuses committed by non -State actors. At the outset, the Special Rapporteur defines the scope and contours of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, which must be broadly construed in keeping with the universalistic spirit of human rights. Contents Page I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 III. The broad range of violations of freedom of religion or belief, their root causes and variables 4 A. The normative scope of freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief . . . . . . . . . . . 5 B. Root causes and motives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 C. Patterns of State-induced violations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 D. Violations by non-State actors and societal restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 E. Responsibility of the international community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 IV. 2/22 16-13296