A/HRC/61/50 proceedings followed. 92 On 10 May 2025, at least 90 Ahmadi Muslim gravestones were reportedly desecrated in Rhoda, Khushab District, Punjab Province. Gravestones were smashed and defaced, with debris scattered across the cemetery. The graves of 269 Ahmadi Muslims have reportedly been desecrated in 11 separate attacks in 2025 alone, and 319 gravestones were defiled in 21 incidents in 2024.93 Christian graveyards are also vandalized, with 39 exhumations of bodies reported between 1984 and 2024. Such acts are often accompanied by harassment and mob violence, particularly during episodes of religious unrest in places such as Gojra, Jaranwala and Sargodha. The lack of effective legal accountability reportedly allows such attacks to continue with impunity, although the occasional administrative actions against perpetrators of grave desecration are welcomed. 94 D. Consultation with religion and belief communities 74. In many States, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was a wake-up call, alerting the authorities to the need to be in regular consultation with religion and belief communities on funeral rights. In Brazil, consultation with Indigenous Peoples, Afro-Brazilian communities and religious minorities on funerary regulations is largely ad hoc, with no systematic mechanisms in place. That was evident during the implementation of COVID-19 burial protocols, including in cases affecting the Yanomami, where lack of prior consultation led to disputes that were addressed following intervention by federal authorities and the courts.95 The question of consultation with concerned communities during COVID-19 also arose in communications from special procedures to Sri Lanka in 2020 and 2021 regarding the enforced cremation of Muslims and others.96 In Argentina, the authorities recognize that the State must ensure that emergency or administrative measures consider religious diversity and do not disproportionately burden funeral rites. The pandemic revealed to them that regulations affecting burial rites had been developed without systematic consultation with religious communities. 97 The cooperation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with Jewish burial societies during the pandemic was welcomed, as the authorities reportedly engaged constructively with religious leaders to ensure that emergency public health measures respected faith-based burial laws, modelling interfaith consultation and legal responsiveness even under crisis conditions.98 75. In Pakistan, such consultation is reportedly largely reactive, limited to post-incident responses, rather than participatory in policy design. 99 In Bangladesh, the Government sometimes consults with Christians or other religious minorities on new burial regulations, but for the most part, reactively.100 76. The establishment in Malaysia of multi-faith facilities, such as Pusara Negara in Putrajaya, which promotes interfaith harmony by accommodating various faiths in designated plots, and advisory committees as introduced by Kuala Lumpur City Hall, are proposed as good practices.101 77. In Guatemala, the State must consult Indigenous Peoples on any legislative or administrative measures affecting them, including funeral practices, ancestral ceremonies 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 GE.25-21055 Confidential input. Submissions from Christian Solidarity Worldwide and International Human Rights Desk. Submission from AWAM. Submission from Brazilian Center of Studies in Law and Religion. See LKA 8/2020 and LKA 2/2020 (all communications mentioned in the present report are available from https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/Tmsearch/TMDocuments); https://www.ohchr.org/en/pressreleases/2021/01/sri-lanka-compulsory-cremation-covid-19-bodies-cannot-continue-sayun?LangID=E&NewsID=26686; and https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/01/sri-lankacompulsory-cremation-covid-19-bodies-cannot-continue-say-un?LangID=E&NewsID=26686, pp. 41 and 96. Submission from Argentina. Submission from World Jewish Congress. Submission from AWAM. Submission from South Asia Forum for Freedom of Religion or Belief. Submission from Malaysia. 15