A/HRC/25/58/Add.2 Although in Jordan conversions away from Islam do not constitute a punishable offence under the criminal code, the civil law implications of such conversions are grave and have clear punitive effects. Depending on the circumstances of each individual case, conversion from Islam can lead to the dissolution of marriage, loss of custody of one’s own children and exclusion from inheritance. On their identity cards, converts are treated as not having any religion, even though they may see themselves as Christian or belonging to another religion. It should be noted that conversion to Islam does not lead to similar consequences, which again accounts for unequal treatment of persons on the basis of their religion or belief. 33. If a Christian male converts to Islam, his underage children (namely, those under 18 years of age) are automatically registered as Muslims, while his adult children may remain Christians. This has reportedly led to situations in which children, who had never received Muslim instruction, had to pass a school exam on Islamic teachings since they were treated as Muslims after their father’s conversion. This shows that personal status laws have also far-reaching implications for the rights of children, in particular their freedom of religion or belief as enshrined in article 14 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As previously mentioned, Jordan entered a reservation with regard to article 14 it ratified the Convention. 34. Moreover, if a Christian woman converts to Islam while being married to a Christian man, her husband must also convert to Islam in order to remain married, on the basis of the assumption that a non-Muslim man cannot marry a Muslim woman. This is one example of how human rights problems can arise at the intersection of freedom of religion or belief and equality of men and women. The Special Rapporteur also learned that, in the event of a divorce between a Muslim and a Christian, a Christian wife will lose custody of her children once they have reached the age of seven years. The situation of Muslim women in divorce settlements seems to be better, since they may exercise their custody rights until the child has reached the age of 14; from then onward, the child may decide which parent should enjoy custody. Again, the current legal system shows obvious discriminatory effects based on both religion or belief and gender. 35. One exception within the pluralistic system of personal status laws concerns inheritance matters. In this area, only sharia law applies. Sharia inheritance law is also binding for the jurisdiction of the various Christian tribunals on issues of inheritance. 36. When discussing the various problems arising from the intricacies of personal status issues, the Special Rapporteur heard several different proposals. While some interlocutors advocated the pragmatic handling of complicated cases largely within the logic of the established legal system (namely along the lines of existing practice), others expressed their desire to go beyond the legal status quo by, for instance, establishing the option for everyone to have access to a non-denominational (“civil”) family law, if the persons concerned so wish. Some went a step further by advocating a general secularization of family law and other personal status regulations. 37. From the perspective of freedom of religion or belief, it seems important to handle personal status questions in a manner that accommodates the existing religious or beliefrelated pluralism fairly and without discrimination. Persons belonging to a religious or belief minority or not professing any religion should have legally established and reliable options rather than having to rely on pragmatic handling based on good will within the administration. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes in this context that, according to international standards, pluralism must also include the freedom to hold and manifest convictions that go beyond traditionally recognized religions. Moreover, freedom of religion or belief also includes the right to change one’s religion or belief. These requirements of international human rights law may be at odds with some religious traditions as they have developed in history. At the same time, however, they fit together with an insight formulated in virtually all religions and beliefs, namely, that authentic faith 11