- - - How rule of law strategies can be used to promote and protect the right to freedom or religion or belief; The Declaration on Minority Rights as a key reference text on the rights of persons belonging to minorities at the global level; The recent adoption by the EU Foreign Affairs Council of the EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief; The three mechanisms of the Council of Europe i.e. the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities and freedom of religion (FCNM) and the ECRML as potentially useful support in the protection of religious minorities; The importance for countries to enshrine the protection of religious minorities within their constitutions; The importance of education and awareness-raising; and the need to revise schoolbooks to reinforce understanding and respect for the different religions and enhance interest in other people’s beliefs; The fact that religious affiliations in national identity card should be abolished; The significant role that can be played by different actors, such as religious leaders, in promoting the rights of minorities, especially in cases where leaders from the majority faith speak out on behalf of religious minorities in a given country; The importance of anti-discrimination legislation at both domestic and international levels; The particular challenges facing religious minorities in post-conflict situations and the need to implement affirmative measures to protect their rights in such contexts; The importance for countries to conduct census to determine the status of their population, including a comprehensive picture of the social and living conditions of all groups. Item III. Protection of the existence of and prevention of violence against religious minorities This session aimed to identify the measures taken by States and other actors to prevent tensions and acts of aggression or violence against religious minorities, their places of worship and assembly. The situation of religious minorities in conflict and post-conflict settings, and the role of all actors involved in ensuring protection of religious minorities and accountability for violations of their rights were considered. The positive role that religious leaders can play in addressing violations of the rights of religious minorities, preventing further violence and promoting peace and reconciliation, was further examined. Mr Majed El Shafie, presented on “Protecting religious minorities: A human imperative”, first referring to his personal experience as being relevant to the subject. He indicated that the vast majority of challenges faced by religious minorities fall into three categories: first the threats from secular authoritarian regimes, which monitor, regulate, and control religious practice and expression within their boundaries and suppress any unauthorized practice, second, cases of religious dominance that may involve a state favouring a majority religion while discriminating against minority religions, and the third category often but not necessarily linked to the second, namely the treatment of religious minorities in conflict or post-conflict situations. Rev. El Shafie encouraged 6