A/78/207 of the principle of non-refoulement. 52 Mandate holders have drawn attention to helpful resources available to States to ensure that the freedom of religion or belief of persons deprived of their liberty is respected. 53 46. States must take reasonable measures to ensure that persons belonging to religious or belief minorities who are deprived of their liberty have access, on an equitable basis, to pastoral services. Although often denied, such services provide an extremely important source of support and solace. 54 47. Law enforcement officials and public prosecutors must protect individuals and groups from violence and discrimination based on religion or belief and refrain from engaging in such acts. They must facilitate the enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief through, inter alia, ensuring that such violence and discrimination is prevented and, where it could not be, through ensuring prompt, thorough and effective investigation and prosecution, while respecting the rights of survivors and victims. Religious or belief discrimination should be considered a potential motive for hate crimes 55 and investigated effectively. That requires States to ensure literacy in relation to freedom of religion or belief, including as it relates to indigenous communities, among law enforcement officials and public prosecutors. It may also necessitate the creation of specialized units. 48. Places of worship and other sacred sites, including indigenous territory, must be protected from infringements and attacks in a manner that does not impede their accessibility to relevant communities. Furthermore, States must address underlying prejudicial attitudes among law enforcement officials and public p rosecutors with respect to religious or belief communities, through training and education on freedom of religion or belief that are designed and implemented in collaboration with religious or belief communities. 49. The Special Rapporteur will dedicate particular attention to the role of State authorities responsible for border protection, migration and asylum in a future thematic report. F. Armed forces 50. Respect of freedom of religion or belief by armed forces in situations of armed conflict is protected under both international human rights law and international humanitarian law and may constitute customary international law. Armed forces must respect those standards. 51. Targeting a group on the basis of the religious identity of its members can form an element of an atrocity crime. 56 Except in cases where they constitute military objectives, the targeting of religious sites is prohibited under both international __________________ 52 53 54 55 56 23-14116 A/60/399, paras. 69–91; E/CN.4/2006/120, paras. 57–65; and A/64/159, paras. 19–21 and 66. See the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment; the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules); and Human Rights and Prisons: Manual on Human Rights Training for Prison Officials (United Nations publication, 2005). Submission provided by Humanists UK. See also Katie Hunt, “Non-religious prisoners’ unequal access to pastoral care”, International Journal of Law in Context, vol. 18, No. 1 (March 2022), p. 118. Submission by the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, arts. 6 and 7 (1) (h). 11/24