must be made to eradicate them in accordance with the obligations of State Parties under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Article 5).13 Article 6 of the Framework Convention requires that State Parties encourage tolerance, dialogue and mutual understanding among different groups living within the State. In the field of education, this poses demands both as regards the content of education and the choice of form, educators, structures and institutions of education. The link between Article 6 and Article 12 is strong in that both provisions support the core ethos of the Framework Convention as one of intercultural dialogue, integration of minorities in the wider society and social cohesion. State Parties need to review regularly the curricula and textbooks of subjects such as history, religion and literature, but such reviews should also cover the entire curriculum in order to ensure that the diversity of cultures and identities is reflected and that tolerance and intercultural communication are promoted. With regard to the teaching of history, the Advisory Committee recalls the long lasting efforts of the Council of Europe in this field. These efforts focus on eliminating stereotypes and prejudices in history textbooks and on the potentials of critical thinking through history. While the introduction of elements of intercultural knowledge and dialogue in curricula as well as the need to review curricula, especially in the field of history and religion, have often been included in the Opinions of the Advisory Committee, it must be noted that the Advisory Committee has not had the occasion to pronounce extensively on the issue of religious education or education offered by religious institutions.14 In international law the established principle requires, on the one hand, that parents may choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children according to their own religious, moral or philosophical convictions (see Article 26, paragraph 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights) and on the other, that information and knowledge must be conveyed in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner.15 In this respect one may also recall the elaborate provisions concerning religion in education in the Vienna Document of the OSCE (1989) including the right of everyone to give and receive religious education in the language of his choice (paragraph 16). All these international documents encourage understanding and dialogue among groups and the suppression of absolutism, intolerance and hatred. 13 See also Article 10 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which deals specifically with equal rights in the field of education, including access to the same curricula, the same examinations, teaching staff with qualifications of the same standard and school premises and equipment of the same quality. 14 In the State Report of Bulgaria ACFC/SR(2003)001, there is a self-critical evaluation on the lack of sufficient inclusion of intercultural elements in Bulgarian curricula, but also information of the efforts of an nongovernmental organisation (The Interethnic Initiative on Human Rights Foundation) to address this need in the field of education. The State Report of Switzerland ACFC/SR(2001)2 accounts for efforts of the Swiss Broadcasting Company – SSR through series of broadcasts on different religions in order to encourage intercultural understanding. This shows as well the role of media, and in particular television, as educational tools. The Advisory Committee Opinion on Armenia ACFC/INF/OP/I(2003)001 notes (under Article 12) that culture, history, religion and the traditions of persons belonging to national minorities are only taught in special Sunday classes and ‘not as part of the general teaching curriculum’. 15 Case of Kjeldsen, Busk Madsen and Pedersen v. Denmark, ECHR, Ser. A, No. 23, 1976, paragraph 50, and Hartikainen v. Finland, Communication No. 40/1978. In this last mentioned case the Human Rights Committee found that compulsory religious education (or history of religion and ethics) is in conformity with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 18(4) only if such instruction is given in a neutral and objective way and respects the convictions of parents and guardians, including when those do not believe in any religion. 11