Discussion The following issues were raised during the first segment of the discussion under Item IV: - The practice and maintaining of a religion are closely connected with the maintaining of other aspects of culture and traditions; - The link between discrimination on ethnicity, religion and languages and extreme poverty; the repercussions of such discrimination on land ownership for religious minorities; - The possibility for some State laws regulating freedom of religion to have a discriminatory and negative impact on religious minorities; - Tolerance as a key element within minorities’ rights and its promotion by the States; - The effectiveness of existing protection mechanisms needs to be reassessed and enhanced where necessary; - The fact that religious minorities often belong to different national, ethnic or linguistic groups, and that the protection of their religious freedom should be viewed in the broader context of implementation of the full range of minority rights; - The positive roles that can be played by religious communities in education and social integration; - The fact that organizational and financial capabilities of religious groups should be taken into consideration in the Recommendations to ensure appropriate support for them; - The need to pay special attention to the situation of women belonging to religious minorities as well as to their right to access to education; - The need for States to take measures to eliminate discriminatory policies; - The fact that persecution of certain minority groups can lead them to migrate and seek asylum elsewhere. Item V. Promotion of constructive interfaith dialogue, consultation and exchange This session discussed the role that key actors, including religious minorities, religious and community leaders, as well as political actors, can play in the promotion and protection of the rights and security of religious minorities and in promoting tolerance and harmonious relations between faith groups. The role that women can play in fostering intercommunity tolerance and dialogue and promoting the rights of religious minorities was also discussed. Participants identified positive examples of interfaith dialogue and exchange and assessed how existing mechanisms, institutions and processes have been established and work in practice. Mr José Riera presented on “UNHCR’s engagement with faith-based organisations, faith leaders and communities of faith”. He gave a brief overview of the Dialogue on Faith on Protection hosted in 2012 by the UNHCR, which was in turn inspired by other UN agencies. Through that dialogue, it was possible to verify that all faith communities share core values which contribute to strengthen the protection of refugees, internally 10