A/HRC/10/8/Add.1 page 43 Observations 161. The Special Rapporteur regrets that she has not received a reply from the Government of Pakistan concerning the above mentioned concerns. She would like to refer to the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, in particular its article 2, which stipulates that “[n]o one shall be subject to discrimination by any State, institution, group of persons, or person on grounds of religion or other beliefs”. Furthermore, its article 4 states that “[a]ll States shall take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief in the recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms in all fields of civil, economic, political, social and cultural life.” Similarly, in its resolution 63/181, the General Assembly urged States “to step up their efforts to eliminate intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief, notably by taking all necessary and appropriate action, in conformity with international standards of human rights, to combat hatred, discrimination, intolerance and acts of violence, intimidation and coercion motivated by intolerance based on religion or belief, as well as incitement to hostility or violence, with particular regard to members of religious minorities in all parts of the world”. In addition, the Special Rapporteur would also like to make reference to her most recent report to the Human Rights Council (see A/HRC/10/8, paras. 29-62) which raises the issue of discrimination based on religion or belief and its impact on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to education (see A/HRC/10/8, paras. 49-51). Communication sent on 18 August 2008 jointly with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women 162. The Special Rapporteurs brought to the attention of the Government information they had received concerning two girls from the Christian minority community in Chak Sarwar Shaheed, district Muzaffargarh. Reportedly, the two girls S. Y., thirteen years old, and A. Y., ten years old, were kidnapped on 26 June 2008 while on their way to their uncle’s house in Chowk Munda. Reportedly, their kidnappers handed the girls over to another individual (his name is on record with the Special Rapporteurs), who then organised a forced conversion to Islam and the marriage of his own son with Ms. S. Y. 163. The police refused the father’s request to file a case against the kidnappers. When the two sisters appeared in the Muzaffargarh District and Sessions court, they were given five minutes to testify that their conversion was genuine and Ms. S. Y. indicated that she was 17 years old. However, her parents were not allowed to submit birth certificates and school records to prove the girls’ true ages and provide evidence for a violation of the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929, which bans child marriage for boys under 18 and girls under 16. On 14 July 2008, the Judge in Muzaffargarh ruled that since the two sisters had converted in a legitimate manner to Islam they could be “handed over to their Christian parents unless they become Muslim, too”. On 6 August 2008, the Lahore High Court Multan Bench ordered a medical examination of Ms. S. Y. to ascertain her age and ruled to keep her and her sister A. Y. in a house for destitute women until the next hearing on 20 August 2008. It had further been alleged that the abductors may have been recruiting young girls for the purpose of prostitution and sexual exploitation, and that the marriages were pretences under which they gained control over the girls.