A/HRC/13/40/Add.4 interlocutors for the information and opinions they shared with her. She sincerely appreciates the logistical support provided by the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and by the regional office for South East Asia of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. II. International human rights standards 6. The right to freedom of religion or belief is enshrined in various international human rights instruments.3 These include articles 2, 18–20 and 26–27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; article 5 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; articles 2, 14 and 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and article 12 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. In addition, articles 2, 18 and 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief provide further guidance on the scope of freedom of religion or belief. 7. Apart from the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has signed and ratified all of the other above-mentioned human rights treaties. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur would like to highlight that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which had already been signed by the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in 2000, was also ratified by the Government on 25 September 2009. Upon ratification, however, the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic declared “that Article 18 of the Covenant shall not be construed as authorizing or encouraging any activities, including economic means, by anyone which directly or indirectly, coerce or compel an individual to believe or not to believe in a religion or to convert his or her religion or belief. The Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic considers that all acts creating division and discrimination among ethnic groups and among religions are incompatible with Article 18 of the Covenant.”4 8. In terms of the human rights monitoring by United Nations treaty bodies, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 2005 recommended that the Lao People’s Democratic Republic recognize the rights of persons belonging to minorities and indigenous peoples as set out in international law, regardless of the name given to such groups in domestic law. The Committee also invited the State party to take into consideration the way in which the groups concerned perceive and define themselves, recalling that the principle of non-discrimination requires taking into consideration the specific characteristics of ethnic, cultural and religious groups (CERD/C/LAO/CO/15, para. 17). The Committee was disturbed by reports of the infringement of the freedom of religion of members of religious minorities, in particular Christians, who are also often members of ethnic minorities. The Committee recommended that the Government ensure that all persons enjoy, without discrimination, their right to freedom of thought, conscience and 3 4 GE.10-10542 For an overview of the Special Rapporteur’s legal framework, see her reports to the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2005/61, paras. 15–20 and E/CN.4/2006/5, annex) as well as the online digest of her framework for communications (www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/religion/standards.htm). See http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV4&chapter=4&lang=en#EndDec (see also the related discussion in paras 29–30 below). 5