A/HRC/31/18/Add.1 V. Challenges to the development of interreligious coexistence A. Registration of religions 42. Religious communities may conduct their collective religious activities by obtaining formal recognition by the Government. The Government takes the decision to grant official recognition on the basis of a statement of doctrine and moral principles of the religious group, in order to ensure that nothing contradicts the Constitution or popular values. The number of adherents must be maintained at a certain level to ensure continuity of the group. Religious groups may otherwise apply for indirect recognition through another religious group that has already been recognized. Formal recognition entails certain social benefits, such as exemption from taxes and the right to apply the codes of the religion to matters of personal status. The Special Rapporteur was unable to document the procedure whereby a community gains recognition, as has been the case in recent years of the Copts and the Alawites, given that his attempts to meet the persons in charge failed. 43. A person wishing to become a member of a religious community is required to obtain approval from the leadership of the community. Religion is e ncoded on national identity cards and noted on official registry extracts (ikhraaj qaid). The Government complies with requests of citizens to change their civil records to reflect their new religious status. In 2009, the Minister of the Interior issued a decree granting citizens the option of removing their religious affiliation from civil registry records and national identity cards. Electronically printed identification cards no longer contain any indication of religious affiliation. Nonetheless, it is n ot difficult to know which confession the individual belongs to , as any Lebanese citizen wishing to marry, divorce or adopt, or to register a birth or a death, is required to refer to courts that are run by the religious community to which the individual b elongs. 44. Certain religious groups, such as the Baha’is, Buddhists, Hindus and unregistered Protestant Christian groups, do not enjoy official recognition and are disadvantaged under the law in that their members do not qualify for certain government positions, and the groups themselves do not have legal identity and therefore no right to own land or property collectively or to import religious materials into the country. For example, no seats are allocated for the Baha’i confession; consequently, Baha’is are not qualified to run for Parliament as Baha’i candidates, nor can they hold senior positions in the Government. Some members of unregistered religious groups are thought to be recorded under the recognized religions; for instance, it was reported that some Baha’is are registered as Shia Muslims. Under that registration, a member of the Baha’i community may run for office and occupy a seat allocated to the Shia community. Similarly, some Mormons have reportedly been registered under the Greek Orthodox faith. B. Ambiguous aspects of religious pluralism 45. The appreciation of religious diversity generally prevalent in Lebanon does not include all communities equally. In most interreligious dialogue or project, the full diversity of the country, including non-recognized religious communities, typically fails to be reflected. Adherents to non-recognized denominations, such as the Baha’is or Jehovah’s Witnesses, although mostly enjoying freedom to confess and practise their beliefs, face problems when attempting to build an infrastructure that would enable them to consolidate their community life. Some individuals remain 12