A/HRC/7/10/Add.2 page 17 of Discrimination against Women adopted on 26 January 20075 and with the concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted on 23 November 2006.6 The Government should be encouraged to review legal and administrative regulations in order to prevent religious unions from taking place without verification that a civil marriage has been registered first. The Government should also strengthen its efforts to eliminate the causes that lead to polygamous unions and develop strategies targeted at parents and religious leaders to prevent such unions. One of the possible measures to initiate change in the widely accepted subordination of women and stereotypical roles applied to both sexes could be awareness-raising and educational campaigns that address, inter alia, religious and community leaders. Most importantly, women themselves have to be empowered. With regard to the headscarf issue, the Special Rapporteur would like to refer to the section on religious symbols in her 2006 report to the Commission on Human Rights in which she emphasized that the fundamental objective should be to safeguard both the positive freedom of religion or belief as manifested in observance and practice by voluntarily wearing or displaying religious symbols and the negative freedom from being forced to wear or display religious symbols (E/CN.4/2006/5, para. 60). 55. The Special Rapporteur would like to stress that, when taking administrative decisions, the authorities need to take into account the specific character of places of worship and their particular significance for believers. This is particularly relevant in the case of the country’s sole synagogue, which has been in use for decades and is currently earmarked for demolition, to make way for the construction of a palace of nations and a national park. Furthermore, mosques, churches and other places of worship need to be fully respected and protected by the authorities. The Special Rapporteur would like to remind the Government of article 6 (a) of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief which states that the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief includes the freedom “to worship or assemble in connection with a religion or belief, and to establish and maintain places for these purposes”. Furthermore, in its resolution 2005/40, the Commission on Human Rights urged States to exert the utmost efforts, in accordance with their national legislation and in conformity with international human rights law, to ensure that religious places, sites, shrines and religious expressions are fully respected and protected and to take additional measures in cases where they are vulnerable to desecration or destruction. Finally, in its resolution 55/254 on protection of religious sites, the General Assembly encouraged all States to promote a culture of tolerance and respect for the diversity of religions and for religious sites, which represent an important aspect of the collective heritage of humankind. 5 Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-second Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/62/38), paras. 37, 52 and 53. 6 Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2007, Supplement No. 2 (E/2007/22), para. 458.