A/HRC/34/50 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief was created by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1986/20 and renewed by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 6/37, in which it Invited the Special Rapporteur (a) to promote the adoption of measures at the national, regional and international levels to ensure the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief; (b) to identify existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief, and to present recommendations on ways and means to overcome such obstacles; (c) to examine incidents and governmental actions that are incompatible with the provisions contained in the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, and to recommend remedial measures as appropriate; and (d) 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. 2. In March 2016, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 31/16, in which it, inter alia, extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further period of three years. At its thirty-second session, the Council appointed Ahmed Shaheed as Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. He officially took office on 1 November 2016. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges the prodigious contributions made to the mandate by the four previous mandate holders, including Professor Heiner Bielefeldt, and takes the opportunity to thank him for supporting the mandate beyond the original term as intended by the Council in 2013. An overview of the activities of the previous mandate holder between 1 August 2015 and 31 July 2016 is provided in the most recent interim report (A/71/269, paras. 3 – 8). 3. On 22 September 2016, the previous mandate holder, in collaboration with the World Council of Churches and the Finnish Ecumenical Council, organized a workshop on the theme, “Religion and religious freedom in international diplomacy”. The main objectives of the workshop were to understand the use of religion in foreign policy, including in the areas of development and humanitarian aid, and to find ways to contribute to the advancement of religious literacy and the freedom of religion or belief. The previous mandate holder also presented his report (A/71/269), which included a thematic focus on the broad range of violations of freedom of religion or belief and their manifold root causes, to the General Assembly at its seventy-first session. 4. In the present report, his first submitted to the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur presents an overview of his perspective and vision for the mandate. He highlights persistent challenges and emerging trends, while emphasizing the need to build on the sterling work of previous mandate holders to contribute to the implementation of measures identified for the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief. In the sections below, he reviews the work of human rights experts appointed by the Council, the special procedures, and the role of the universal periodic review in advancing this right. He then discusses specific tools and initiatives that could help to effectuate the priorities and protections identified for the realization of the right to freedom of religion or belief, and presents the persistent challenges and emerging concerns that form the operative context in which the Special Rapporteur must work. The mandate holder concludes with an outline of his methods of work and programmatic priorities that will support an overall agenda focused on implementation. The agenda, which will be the guiding framework for the mandate for the next three years, is consistent with the growing emphasis placed by the Council on the need to address persistent implementation gaps in compliance with human rights standards. 3