A/HRC/10/38
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committed against minorities by non-State actors. She also pointed out that religious minorities
face various forms of discrimination and intolerance from policies, legislation and State practice.
Issues of concern relate to obstacles in official registration procedures and inappropriate
limitations when disseminating materials and displaying religious symbols.
24. In an earlier report (A/HRC/4/21), the Special Rapporteur also specifically addressed
issues facing religious minorities and new religious movements and cautioned that, when
religious minorities are considered so-called non-traditional or new religious movements, the
members of these communities may often be the object of suspicion and suffer greater
limitations to their right to freedom of religion or belief. The Special Rapporteur advocated
interpreting the scope of application for freedom of religion or belief in a broad sense, with the
contents of a religion being defined by the worshippers themselves. She thus found it particularly
worrying when a religious community is empowered, either de jure or de facto, to decide
whether or not to veto the registration of another religious or belief group.
25. In her report on her visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
(A/HRC/7/10/Add.3), the Special Rapporteur shared her concern that Catholic staff were
underrepresented in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the prison service and other criminal
justice agencies, and welcomed affirmative strategies to ensure that these agencies could recruit
a more representative workforce. She emphasized that tackling the sectarian polarization in
Northern Ireland should not lead to a disregard for the situation and concerns of religious
minorities, including physical attacks against them. She expressed concerns about reports of
profiling of Muslims based on physical appearance within the framework of counter-terrorism
efforts and the resulting alienation of certain ethnic and religious groups, and encouraged the
introduction of legislation against racial and religious hatred in Scotland.
26. In the report on her visit to Tajikistan (A/HRC/7/10/Add.2), the Special Rapporteur urged
the Government to actively protect and promote the freedom of religion or belief of both the
Muslim communities and the various religious minorities in Tajikistan and to bear that in mind,
especially when adopting specific legislations and policies. In the report on her visit to Maldives
(A/HRC/4/21/Add.3), she expressed concern about reports that individuals who were suspected
of having converted from Islam had been subjected to coercion in detention to persuade them to
reaffirm their belief in Islam; about legislation limiting eligibility for certain public posts and
voting rights to Muslims only; and about the citizenship law which stipulates that only Muslims
can apply for citizenship. She encouraged the Government to consider amending the current
practice to enable non-Muslims to manifest their religion or belief in a manner consistent with
human rights law.
Special Rapporteur on the right to education
27. The Special Rapporteur on the right to education pointed out in his thematic report on the
right to education in emergency situations (A/HRC/8/19) that, in times of emergency, inequality
and discrimination increase for marginalized groups, such as ethnic minorities. In the report on
his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Special Rapporteur welcomed an action plan on the
education needs of Romani and other national minorities, the goals of which are the removal of
financial and administrative barriers to Romani school enrolment and completion, the
participation of Romani parents and communities in the education process, increasing Romani
teaching staff and sensitizing non-Romani teaching staff to the needs of Romani students.