A/75/385 Though Bangladesh has legislatively enabled affected individuals to file claims for the return of confiscated property since 2001,129 religious minorities, however, allege that corruption and antipathy among local government officials have precluded access to restitution for those affected. 51. Land tenure of religious or belief minorities is also threatened by armed non-state actors. In Iraq, it is reported that ISIL/Daesh deliberately targeted the rural environment that underpins the livelihoods of Yazidi people living off the land, as well as Assyrian Christians.130 Moreover, Iraqi women who were displacement reportedly face increased barriers in returning home following the war with the Islamic State group (IS) owing to difficulties in claiming their housing, land and property rights. 131 In Nigeria’s “Middle Belt” region, clashes over land and water resources between predominantly Christian farmer and predominantly Fulani herder communities belonging to various ethno-religious groups, has led to mass displacement, property destructions, and the deaths of thousands. 132 VI. Positive measures addressing discrimination and exclusion based on religion or belief 52. All human rights impose positive as well as negative obligations on States to respect, protect and fulfil their human rights responsibilities. The duty to respect requires duty-bearers to refrain from interfering with the enjoyment of any human right. The duty to protect requires governments to take measures to prevent violations of any human right by third parties. The duty to fulfil requires States to adopt appropriate legislative, administrative and other measures towards the full realization of human rights. 53. In responding to a call from the Special Rapporteur for State and non-State actors to share measures and initiatives aiming at reducing inequalities, combatting systemic discrimination based on religion or belief, a number of governments and non-governmental organizations highlighted measures and initiatives aimed at overcoming such hurdles, some of which are presented below for illustrative purposes. Legal Reforms 54. The Special Rapporteur welcomes recent legal reforms to tackle discrimination based on, or in the name of, religion or belief. This includes the criminalization of female genital mutilation and the repeal of apostasy laws in Sudan, 133 the repeal of anti-blasphemy legislation in Ireland, Canada, Greece and Denmark, and the repeal of legislation in Bangladesh that banned the publication, sale and distribution of Ahmadi materials. 134 In India, the Supreme Court determined that the exclusion of women from entering all or parts of religious sites was discriminatory.135 In Sindh Province, Pakistan, measures to ban forced conversion and marriage of minors have been adopted;136 the Special Rapporteur, however, notes that he continues to receive reports that Pakistani women and girls, in particular those belonging to religious minorities are forced to convert and marry in large numbers. 55. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the adoption by several countries of measures to combat hate crime, including legislation that recognizes religion or belief as a protected characteristic and an aggravating factor in the commission of crime, and in some cases, 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 14 Vested Property (Return) Act in 2001; Vested Property Return (Amendment) Act in 2011. https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Dead-Land-Islamic-State%E2%80%99sDeliberate-Destruction-of-Iraq%E2%80%99s-Farmland.pdf; https://christianpersecutionreview.org.uk/report/. https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/pdf/reports/broken-homes---iraq-report-may-2020/hlp-report-1.8.pdf. See, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24934&LangID=E; IRF, https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-report-on-international-religious-freedom/nigeria/. https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/07/16/sudans-law-reforms-positive-first-step. Submission by South Asia Forum for Freedom of Religion or Belief. Ibid; see also, Supreme Court judgment of 28 September 2018, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 373 of 2006, Indian Young Lawyers Association & Ors. V. The State of Kerala & Ors. Submission by APPG Pakistani Minorities.