A/52/477 English Page 20 81. Article 4 of the Declaration provides that States shall make all efforts to enact or rescind legislation where necessary to prohibit any such discrimination, and to take all appropriate measures to combat intolerance on the grounds of religion or belief in this matter. 82. The Special Rapporteur also wishes to note that the General Assembly, in resolution 51/93, and the Commission on Human Rights, in resolution 1997/18, urged States to establish adequate and effective constitutional and legal guarantees to ensure to all, without discrimination, freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, including the provision of effective remedies in cases where the right to freedom of religion or belief is violated. 83. In this context, the Special Rapporteur had already sent a note verbale to all States in 1994 drawing their attention to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1994/18 relating to his mandate and inviting them to communicate all new information within the framework of that mandate and any other observations they might wish to make in that regard. Replies from several Governments referred in particular to the relevant constitutions, laws and regulations. 11 84. The Special Rapporteur will make another request to States in the near future with a view to obtaining, for the purposes of analysis, taking into consideration the 1981 Declaration, the text of the constitution in force or any other text taking the place of the constitution and the texts of laws and regulations regarding freedom of religion and worship. 2. Other issues 85. The Special Rapporteur once again wishes to stress the importance of an inter-faith dialogue in order to combat all extremism, whatever religion is invoked, and ensure religious tolerance both internationally and within States. 86. The establishment of firm foundations for religious tolerance and hence for the protection and promotion of freedom of religion and belief will also require specific action in the sphere of education, as described in chapter III of this report. It is essential not simply to control intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief but to prevent them by developing a culture of tolerance through an international school strategy to combat all forms of discrimination based on religion or belief. 87. The communications sent out by the Special Rapporteur, especially the communication concerning Afghanistan, raise the question of women and religion. The Special Rapporteur wishes to stress that the Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 1997/18, "urged States, in conformity with international standards of human rights, to take all necessary action to combat hatred, intolerance and acts of violence, intimidation and coercion motivated by intolerance based on religion, including practices which violate the human rights of women and discriminate against women. The Commission also stressed the need for the Special Rapporteur to apply a gender perspective, inter alia, through the identification of gender-specific abuses, in the reporting process, including in information collection and in recommendations". /...