A/76/380 Promoting acceptance of a community’s specific religious doctrine or their moral vision, while avoiding the use of coercive means, does not impinge upon others’ rights and therefore does not constitute grounds for criminal sanctions. 111 59. Along with anti-apostasy laws, stakeholders express concern that anti-blasphemy laws often erode freedom of thought of religious or belief minorities, including atheists and dissenters. 112 These laws reportedly criminalize and censor the free expression of individuals’ thoughts out of fear of reprisals and restrict their access to and circulation of materials, including free and open Internet access, 113 which can facilitate critical thinking. For instance, it is reported that Qatar criminalizes “doubts” in Islamic teaching. 114 The Special Rapporteur recalls that freedom of religion or belief protects individuals, not religions, and reiterates calls for all States to repeal anti-blasphemy and anti-apostasy laws since they undermine both freedom of religion or belief and the ability to have healthy dialogue and debates on a wide range of human concerns, including religion or belief. 115 D. Intellectual freedom and education 60. The Special Rapporteur has received several reports that various States and non-State actors have been engaging in practices that undermine intellectual freedom and critical thinking – two phenomena that may depend on and contribute towards freedom of thought. Reportedly, in at least 32 States, religious or ideological instruction is mandatory for students in all or most State-funded schools, with no secular alternative, 116 including in the form of collective worship or religious instruction, school chaplaincy programmes or missionary interventions. Opting out of these mandatory programmes in public schools is reportedly c hallenging or unavailable in certain contexts, including in cases where religious exemptions (which can carry social and professional stigma) may be noted on children’s academic records; have age requirements in lieu of parental approval; or, occasionally, require that a child’s alternative religion or belief is affirmed first (e.g., with a “certificate of atheism”). 117 It is also reported that some education systems are grounded in ideologies that dissuade critical thinking and independent thought altogethe r. 61. Furthermore, some States reportedly violate freedom of thought and other rights where they attempt to coercively alter – or even punish – thought deemed harmful to national security, such as so-called “deradicalization” and “re-education” programmes.118 Even though current research offers no clarity on the ability of these programmes to __________________ 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 21-14191 Submission from ADF International. Consultations with Humanists International and with religious or belief communities. See https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world -news/pakistan-seeks-toblock-us-based-website-of-minority-ahmadis/articleshow/80390217.cms?from=mdr. See https://fot.humanists.international/countries/asia-western-asia/qatar/ #Expression_of_humanist_values_and_critical_thinking. A/72/365, para. 28; see also A/HRC/40/58, annex II, commitment XI. Algeria, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Belarus, Brunei Darussalam, Comoros, Croatia, Egypt, Eritrea, Ghana, Iraq, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zimbabwe. Consultation with Humanists International. Consultation with Humanists International; submissions from Turkey and from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. A/HRC/31/65, paras. 44–46; and CCPR/C/78/D/878/1999, para. 3.2. 17/28