- The importance of the right to effective political participation for religious minorities; Different measures taken by States aimed at promoting inter-faith dialogues in their countries; Examples of best practices that can be useful in considering the rights of religious minorities; The need for States to take measures to address extremism and disseminate tolerance and moderation; The direct link between respect for the rights of religious minorities and the protection of their freedom of expression and freedom of religion; The need to protect religious sites; The fact that leader’s attitude can obviously help, but it cannot replace the community itself; The need for key stakeholders, State and non-State actors, to build an interfaith dialogue based on equality and equity and to strive to create an environment for the enjoyment by all persons of freedom of religion or belief The secularity of the State does not imply that there shall not be collaboration among the State and religious groups; The need for timely compensation to be provided in case of damages against a religious minority group; The need to use religion to unite and not to divide; There are several conceptions of religion, which may create tensions that need to be managed, including through addressing misconceptions and misunderstandings; The essential role of religious and political leaders in promoting interreligious dialogue, including at the grassroots level. Mr Ralston Deffenbaugh provided some concluding remarks, first stating that the General Assembly recognises the imperative need for dialogue among different faiths and religions and encourages the spread of the messages of interfaith harmony and good will. He stressed that one of the most important ways to engage in interfaith dialogue is in practice; and that religion can be a force for peace. Protecting freedom of religion is a way to achieving peace; therefore, respecting the rights of religious minorities gives the space to those minorities and contributes to the fact that they can express themselves by loving their God and their neighbours. In this way, interfaith dialogue supports peacebuilding work. Ms Hedina Sijerčić, Chairperson of the sixth session of the Forum on Minority Issues, thanked all participants for their engagement and valuable contributions, including comments on the draft recommendations. She underlined that the protection of religious minorities would also enhance the conditions of those linguistic and ethnic minorities. She welcomed the many examples of good practices that were shared by Forum participants in such areas as legislation, institutional attention to minority issues, projects targeted to address the problems facing religious minorities or key concerns, as well as local level initiatives. Ms Sijerčić finally reminded that all the relevant recommendations would be reflected in a document to be presented to the 25th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in March 2014. 12