E/CN.4/2004/63 page 26 125. Pursuant to Commission resolution 1994/18 of 25 February 1994, encouraging the Special Rapporteur to consider the contribution of education to the promotion of religious tolerance, the Special Rapporteur initiated in 1994, by means of a questionnaire addressed to States, a survey of school curricula with reference to freedom of religion in primary or elementary and secondary education. 126. On the basis of the replies to this questionnaire from 78 States and the study entitled “Racial discrimination, religious intolerance and education” (A/CONF.189/PC.2/22), the Special Rapporteur undertook consultations in order to benefit from the experience of certain international, regional and national organizations, both intergovernmental and non-governmental, and considered that it was necessary for an international consultative conference on school education in relation to freedom of religion and belief, tolerance and non-discrimination to be held. This Conference took place in Madrid from 23 to 25 November 2001 on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. 127. Following the Conference, a final document was adopted by consensus. This document, which recommends measures of a general nature as well as on more particular issues and calls not only on States but also on all actors in society to make a contribution, should serve as a framework for activities to make school a place for learning about peace, understanding and tolerance among individuals, groups and nations in order to develop respect for pluralism. 128. As a follow-up to the Madrid Conference the Special Rapporteur has continued to take various initiatives with States, human rights institutes, non-governmental organizations and religious communities and with United Nations treaty bodies and the special rapporteurs particularly concerned with the prevention of intolerance and discrimination. 129. The Special Rapporteur attended various meetings prepared by non-governmental organizations that provided an opportunity for discussing means of distributing the Madrid final document and implementing its recommendations; these included the fifth World Congress of the International Religious Liberty Association (Manila, 11-13 June 2002) and the thirty-first World Congress of the International Association for Religious Freedom (Budapest, 28 July- 2 August 2002). 130. A strategic analysis seminar was held in Oslo from 8 to 10 December 2002 and then in Rabat from 4 to 6 May 2003 on the initiative of the Oslo Coalition on the Freedom of Religion or Belief, at which participants studied means of setting up an international interdisciplinary network to facilitate the implementation of the aims of and follow-up to the recommendations of the Madrid Conference. This seminar was also part of the preparations for a conference of international interdisciplinary experts to be held in 2004, the purpose of which will be to promote the elaboration of models for education in religion and ethics in accordance with international human rights instruments. 131. Lastly, the Special Rapporteur is following closely the activities of the human rights institutes, in particular, the Arab Institute of Human Rights and the University of Fryeburg, concerning education for tolerance and non-discrimination, particularly in schools.