A/HRC/31/56/Add.1 27. At the federal level, Brazil has also adopted a series of dedicated laws on racial inequality. Law 7716 of 1989, as modified by Law 9459 of 1997, prohibits racism and discrimination based on ethnicity, religion or nationality, and criminalizes racial discrimination and discrimination based on ethnicity, skin colour, religion and nationality. The Statute on Racial Equality (Law 12288 of 2010) also prohibits racism and discrimination as well as guaranteeing the rights to non-discrimination and racial equality in other fields including health, culture, housing, work, education and freedom of belief and conscience. Several states have passed their own racial equality legislation. For example, the State of Bahia has adopted a statute on fighting racism and religious intolerance (Law 13.182 of 2014). 28. Law 10369 of 2003 amended the General Education Law and makes the teaching of the history and culture of Africa and Afro-Brazilians at the basic and secondary levels obligatory. Under Article 33 of the Law of Guidelines and Bases of Education, religious teaching is optional and schools must respect the religious diversity of Brazil and not allow proselytism. 29. Decree 6040 of 2007 recognizes the existence of distinct traditional peoples and communities, and establishes that their rights must be guaranteed and respected. The Decree also established the National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Traditional Peoples and Communities, whose main objective is to promote the sustainable development of traditional peoples and communities, with emphasis on the recognition, strengthening and guarantee of their territorial, social, environmental, economic and cultural rights, with respect and appreciation of their identity, their organization and their institutions. 30. A specific legislative framework has been established for Quilombo communities. The 1988 constitution, through its articles 215 and 216, provides that Quilombo lands are to be considered Afro-Brazilian Cultural Territory and should be protected as a national public asset. In addition, article 68 of the Temporary Constitutional Provisions Act, enabling decree 4887 of 2003, provides for further legal recognition of the rights of Quilombo communities to the demarcation of their lands and territories. 31. While general prohibitions against discrimination remain relevant for Roma communities, to date there has been no other legislation concerning discrimination against Roma specifically. However, there is a Roma Bill currently pending before the Senate, which, if adopted, will provide important legal recognition of the rights of Brazilian Roma as a minority group. The Ministry of Education has also developed curriculum guidelines for travelling populations, which may be relevant for Roma who travel (resolution CNE/CED No. 3 of 2012). Administrative instruction No. 940 of 2011 of the Ministry of Health, which regulates the system of national health cards, is also pertinent for Roma, as it affirms that it is not necessary to have a permanent address, thereby ensuring that nomadic Roma communities are not excluded from the system. Finally, Presidential Decree of 25 May 2006 established the National Day of Brazilian Cigano, an important symbolic step recognizing Roma as an integral part of Brazilian society. C. Institutional framework 32. There are some positive institutional initiatives at the federal and state levels that advance the rights of minority communities. Of particular note is the establishment of federal secretariats with the same status as ministries on issues relevant to minority rights, including the Secretariat for Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality, the Special Secretariat for Human Rights and the Secretariat for Policies Involving Women’s Rights. In October 2015, these secretariats were merged into one, larger, Ministry of Women, Racial Equality and Human Rights. 7