A/68/268 beliefs — pertaining, for example, to newer communities, migrants, or new religious movements — also contravene human rights standards and result in undue restrictions on rights. Both those objectives may be owing to the prevalence of discrimination against particular religious minorities. Freedom of religion or belief has a status prior and independent of any administrative recognition procedures, and religious minorities should be respected in their freedom of religion or belief even without any registration. 62. Some States demand the declaration of religious affiliation on identity cards and other official documentation. The enjoyment of rights may then be precariously conditional on ascription to a closed list of particular religions or be utilized to ensure the impossibility of conversion and the denial of the existence of any other beliefs. Refusal to abide by such requirements may result in the denial of a number of basic rights: from the registration of births, marriages and deaths; school and university entrance; obtaining passports, driving licences, bank accounts and property; access to health provisions; and so on. The restrictions amount to violations that destroy the very foundations of minority rights. Compelling people to identify religion or belief on official documents undermines the explicit assertion developed by the United Nations Human Rights Committee that no one can be compelled to reveal his thoughts or adherence to a religion or belief. 17 63. Recognition and non-discriminatory registration may prove essential to the maintenance of religious identity. For example, teaching religion or belief requires the State to not criminalize or restrict the teaching or proselytizing of religion or belief and for any limitations to be strictly within the legal limitations outlined in article 18, paragraph 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Charitable activities, for example, require sufficient recognition to allow the group to legally gather and hold such events. Respect for the appointment and election of leaders requires non-interference on the part of the State and some recognition of the appointment or election system in terms of recognition of the relevant leader(s) or spokesperson(s) as a representative of that community. 7. Legislative protection 64. The Declaration calls upon States to undertake a range of efforts in creating an environment for the enjoyment of minority rights, including through the adoption of appropriate legislative and other measures (art. 1, para. 2). Domestic minority rights and anti-discrimination legislation is essential to the full implementation of standards at the national level. While an increasing number of countries may have anti-discrimination provisions in law, many still do not, and even where laws do exist, minority rights provisions are frequently excluded, restrictive or weak and poorly enforced. 65. Religious minorities should be able to avail themselves of universal human rights provisions relating to equality of the law and equality before the law. In addition, they should be able to avail themselves of freedom of religion or belief rights and non-discrimination on the basis of religion or belief. As part of minority rights, religious minorities should also have access to further legislative protections aimed at ensuring the survival and continued development of their religious, __________________ 17 16/23 See CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, para. 3; see also A/63/161, paras. 45-54 and 75-78. 13-41869