A/68/290 56. The Special Rapporteur would like to reiterate in this context that, according to article 18, paragraph 2, of the International Covenant, the forum internum dimension of freedom of religion or belief receives unconditional protection and does not allow any restrictions or infringements, for any reason. 13 Even the undeniably significant aim of promoting gender equality and using school education for that purpose cannot justify forms of teaching that may amount to violation of a student’s forum internum. States are therefore obliged to exercise due diligence in this area, for instance by sensitizing teachers, employing professional mediators and establishing suitable monitoring mechanisms. 4. Religious institutions 57. Freedom of religion or belief also covers the right of persons and groups of persons to establish religious institutions that function in conformity with their religious self-understanding. This is not just an external aspect of marginal significance. Religious communities, in particular minority communities, need an appropriate institutional infrastructure, without which their long-term survival options as a community might be in serious peril, a situation which at the same time would amount to a violation of freedom of religion or belief of individual members (see A/HRC/22/51, para. 25). Moreover, for many (not all) religious or belief communities, institutional questions, such as the appointment of religious leaders or the rules governing monastic life, directly or indirectly derive from the tenets of their faith. Hence, questions of how to institutionalize religious community life can have a significance that goes far beyond mere organizational or managerial aspects. Freedom of religion or belief therefore entails respect for the autonomy of religious institutions. 58. It is a well-known fact that in many (not all) denominations, positions of religious authority, such as bishop, imam, preacher, priest, rabbi or reverend, remain reserved to males, a state of affairs that collides with the principle of equality between men and women as established in international human rights law. Unsurprisingly, this has led to numerous conflicts. While the Special Rapporteur cannot provide a general recipe for handling such conflicts in practice, he would like to point to a number of relevant human rights principles and norms in this regard. 59. It cannot be the business of the State to shape or reshape religious traditions, nor can the State claim any binding authority in the interpretation of religious sources or in the definition of the tenets of faith. Freedom of religion or belief is a right of human beings, after all, not a right of the State. As mentioned above, questions of how to institutionalize community life may significantly affect the religious self-understanding of a community. From this it follows that the State must generally respect the autonomy of religious institutions, also in policies of promoting equality between men and women. 60. At the same time, one should bear in mind that freedom of religion or belief includes the right of internal dissidents, including women, to come up with alternative views, provide new readings of religious sources and try to exercise influence on a community’s religious self-understanding, which may change over time. In situations in which internal dissidents or proponents of new religious __________________ 13 16/22 See also CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, para. 3. 13-42191