A/HRC/31/18/Add.2 7. Freedom of thought and conscience is guaranteed by the Constitution (art. 39, para. 1), which, subject to law, public order and morality, protects the right of every citizen to profess, practise or propagate any religion and the right of every religious community or denomination to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions (art. 41, para. 1). Furthermore, no one attending any educational institution can be coerced to receive religious instruction or to take part in or to attend any religious ceremony or worship, if that instruction, ceremony or worship relates to a religion other than his own (art. 41, para. 2). 8. The motto of the Government in promoting freedom of religion or belief is “each unto his or her religion, festivals are for all”. Besides the guarantees provided by the Constitution, the Government has also enacted laws and acts to uphold and protect religious values. It has taken different initiatives through the 2006 National Cultural Policy, the 2010 National Education Policy, the 2011 National Women Development Policy and other social welfare policies in promoting religious harmony. The Government provides basic education on religion for children and adults as well as budgetary allocations for the development of religious minority groups through separate religious welfare trusts for Hindus, Buddhists and Christians to establish and repair religious institutions, for example. The State makes the main festivals of all religions public holidays for a nationwide celebration. 9. On 14 July 2009, Parliament passed the National Human Rights Commission Act of 2009, with retrospective effect, to legalize the actions performed by the Commission, which was established under ordinance in 2008. On 22 June 2010, the Government reconstituted the Commission with the appointment of a Chairman and six new commissioners. 10. The Commission has a few challenges, including limited jurisdiction or authority in the event of a violation by law enforcement agencies. It can only demand reports from government agencies. There is no specific consequence for the failure of Government to provide such reports. The Commission has limited human or financial resources to be able to function effectively and independently. 11. Bangladesh is party to almost all core human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, Bangladesh has made reservations to article 14 (3) (d) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, articles 2 and 16 (1) (c) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and articles 14 (1) and 21 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. III. Interreligious coexistence A. A deep rooted tradition of pluralistic coexistence 12. Everyone with whom the Special Rapporteur had a chance to speak agreed that people generally live peacefully together across religious divides in Bangladesh. The religious landscape in Bangladesh and the (Indian) subcontinent has always been pluralistic. According to the 2011 census in Bangladesh, approximately 90 per cent of the population is Sunni Muslim. Hindus account for 9.5 per cent of the total population and all other faiths, including Christians and Buddhists, account for less than 1 per cent. 13. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians are the most commonly found religious communities in Bangladesh, while there are also other religious minorities, such as the Baha’is (about 300,000 followers), animists or indigenous peoples who practise other beliefs or traditional forms of spirituality in combination with one of the four religions mentioned above. 4