E/CN.4/2002/24 page 43 106. The Government states: “Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance are generally not perceived as a serious problem in Thailand. Being a somewhat homogeneous country with over 95 per cent of the population Buddhist, Thailand has long enjoyed national unity and social harmony. Despite the Buddhist majority, Buddhism is not proclaimed as the national religion. His Majesty the King is the patron of all religions practised in the country.” 107. At the national level, the Constitution forthrightly condemns all forms of discrimination. It states in section 30: “All persons are equal before the law and shall enjoy equal protection under the law. Men and women shall enjoy the same rights. Unjust discrimination against a person on the grounds of difference in origin, race, language, sex, age, physical or health condition, personal status, economic or social standing, religious belief, education or political views shall not be permitted. “Measures determined by the State in order to eliminate obstacles to or to promote persons’ ability to exercise their rights and liberties like other persons shall not be deemed as unjust discrimination under paragraph 3 …” 108. Section 43 of the Constitution states that “ a person shall enjoy an equal right to receive basic education for a duration of not less than 12 years, which shall be provided by the State thoroughly, of good quality and without charge”. Section 10 of the National Education Act (1999) states likewise, with a view to fully implementing the Constitution. In practice, the Thai Ministry of Education strives to provide education for all citizens on an equal basis, without discrimination as to ethnic or racial origin. To solve the problem of education for children without household registration, children of the highland people who have not acquired Thai citizenship and children of displaced persons from neighbouring countries, the Thai Ministry of Education issued a ministerial decree concerning necessary documents for school admission (1992) and guidelines on education for children without household registration and non-Thai children. Moreover, all prisoners, regardless of their nationality, have equal access to informal education provided by the Department of Non-Formal Education of the Ministry of Education and by open universities. Limited scholarships are also offered to prisoners, based on their study performance. Foreign prisoners have also been granted such scholarships to pursue higher education in open universities. 109. With regard to cultural preservation, section 46 of the Constitution states that “Persons so assembling as to be a traditional community shall have the right to conserve or to restore the customs, local knowledge, arts or good culture of their community and of the nation and participate in the management in a balanced fashion and persistently provided by law”. In this regard, the Ministry of Education has set up in each province a cultural council to serve as a focal point in the promotion and preservation of local and national cultures.