A/HRC/10/8 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 6/37, in which the Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and revised its terms of reference. 2. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur first outlines the activities carried out under the mandate on freedom of religion or belief since the submission of her previous reports to the Council (A/HRC/4/21 and A/HRC/6/5). The Special Rapporteur then analyses the international legal framework and provides some examples of discrimination based on religion or belief and its impact on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. Lastly, she presents her conclusions and recommendations on this issue. II. ACTIVITIES OF THE MANDATE 3. The Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance was initially appointed pursuant to resolution 1986/20 of the Commission on Human Rights. While the Commission defined the scope of the mandate on religious intolerance according to the provisions of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief of 25 November 1981, the scope was subsequently broadened by the Commission and the General Assembly in subsequent resolutions. The Commission changed the title of the mandate to “Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief” by its resolution 2000/33, which was approved by the Economic and Social Council in its decision 2000/261. 4. In its resolution 6/37, the Human Rights Council concluded that there was a need for the continued contribution of the Special Rapporteur to the protection, promotion and universal implementation of the right to freedom of religion or belief. The Council therefore decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further period of three years and, in this context, invited the mandate-holder: (a) To promote the adoption of measures at the national, regional and international levels to ensure the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief; (b) To identify existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief and present recommendations on ways and means to overcome such obstacles; (c) To continue her/his efforts to examine incidents and governmental actions that are incompatible with the provisions of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief and to recommend remedial measures as appropriate; (d) To continue to apply a gender perspective, inter alia, through the identification of gender-specific abuses, in the reporting process, including in information collection and in recommendations.