A/56/253 (a) Violations of the principle of non-discrimination in the area of religion or belief, namely: policies, legislation or regulations, practices or acts that discriminate against, on the one hand, certain communities of religion or belief, particularly when these communities are minorities or are not part of the official religion and, on the other hand, women in respect of the interpretation of religion and of traditions which purport to be based on religion or belief; (b) Violations of the principle of tolerance in the area of religion or belief, namely: policies, practices and acts of religious intolerance stemming from the State and society, in particular non-State entities such as communities of religion or belief and political or religious groups, the strongest manifestations of which relate to religious (inter or intra religious) extremism. Role of the media in fostering a climate of intolerance towards certain communities, especially minorities; (c) Violations of the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, namely: policies, legislation or regulations, practices or acts that are contrary to the principle of conscientious objection and freedom to change one’s religion or to keep one’s religion or beliefs; (d) Violations of the freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief, namely: policies, legislation or regulations, practices or acts that constitute control, interference, prohibition or excessive limitation of the freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief; (e) Violations of the freedom to dispose of religious property, namely: policies, practices or acts that affect the freedom to dispose of religious property in the form of confiscation or non-restitution of property, non-access to places of worship or to sites having religious or spiritual significance such as the sacred sites of indigenous peoples; attacks on, closures or destruction of such places, including cemeteries, tombs and religious schools; (f) Violations of the right to life, physical integrity or health of individuals (whether religious, believers or non-believers), namely: policies, practices or acts that take the form of threats, ill-treatment, arrest and detention, enforced disappearances, death sentences, executions and assassinations; (g) Violations affecting women, namely: category including the first six categories. It is important to emphasize that these violations are committed not only by extremist groups and communities, but also and most often by society and official institutions. (ii) Religions or beliefs covered by communications 99. The Special Rapporteur’s communications have covered attacks on most communities of religion or belief all over the world. 100. This includes, on the one hand, what are usually called the “major religions” because of the number of followers at the international level, namely, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism. Naturally, it concerns the main currents of each religion; in the case of Christianity, it includes the Catholic and reform communities and the orthodox churches. 101. It also includes other communities of religion or belief which, on the whole, have fewer members at the international level, for example, Baha’i, Jehovah’s 30