A/HRC/7/23/Add.2 page 11 Council and Mission established by the Ministry of Culture in 1980 have been tasked with preserving key constituents of the identity of local cultures and helping to coordinate ethnological research policy throughout metropolitan France and its overseas departments, regions and communities”. 26. The independent expert considers such issues to be central to the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Minorities. Even when linguistic minorities are relatively well integrated in economic, social and political fields, the 1992 Declaration8 places great emphasis on preservation of linguistic, religious and cultural identity. The State is under a positive obligation to “create favourable conditions” in this regard. Information received suggests that policy and practice in France require review in consultation with the affected communities themselves, with a view to achieving consistency of approach and policy. C. Rights of religious minorities 27. France maintains the principles of secularism (laïcité) in regard to different religious faiths. Those of Muslim faith, however, may face particular challenges. Under conditions of societal intolerance, suspicion, misunderstanding of Islam and growing Islamophobia, the principle of non-discrimination alone is not sufficient to ensure equality in practice. Concerns were raised with the independent expert regarding provision of Muslim prayer facilities and mosques. There is no specific law on the construction of places of worship. While the same rules apply to all religious communities with respect to leases, land use and ownership and building restrictions, community prejudices may result in unequal treatment by local authorities, leading to undue restrictions on Muslim communities. There is a perception of bias when in practice these laws are only relevant to the building of mosques because in secular France, Islam is the primary religion with a growing need for places of worship. 28. Estimates put the Muslim population in France at 5 to 6 million people, the largest in Western Europe, most of whom are part of settled and established communities. The independent expert welcomes the positive practice of government recognition of different religious communities and initiatives, including the establishment of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, that play an important role in a process of interfaith and inter-community dialogue. 29. The innovative “Marseilles Hope” initiative supported by town hall and municipal authorities is a collective of religious leaders who meet together and with local authorities to share information, views and issues, and to maintain positive and constructive communication. Founded in 1989 as a response to growing urban violence, the body promotes inter-community understanding and “social peace” through a range of activities including interfaith symposiums. Marseilles Hope was consistently highlighted by all respondents as an exemplary initiative of interfaith and community dialogue. 8 Article 1 states that “States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and shall encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity” and that “States shall adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to achieve those ends”.