A/HRC/19/60/Add.1 State or in State institutions, to participate in religious practices. Against a possible misunderstanding, he wishes to clarify that “negative” freedom of religion or belief does not mean a right to be free from any confrontation with religious symbols or other manifestations of religious faith or practice in the public domain. Such demands would obviously imply a State policy of purging the public sphere of all religious symbols, which would clearly run counter to the human right to publicly manifest one’s religion or belief, either individually or in community with others. Instead, the purpose of the “negative” side of freedom of religion or belief is to make sure that no one is exposed to any pressure, especially by the State, to confess or practice a religion or belief against one’s own convictions. State institutions, such as the police, military and public schools, in which authority is exercised, require special safeguards in this regard. 32. Some members of Protestant denominations complained about unequal treatment with regard to financial subsidies for denominational universities. Whereas the traditional Catholic university benefits from financial support by the State, a recently established Protestant university apparently does not receive comparable State subsidies. The Special Rapporteur reiterates that States are not obliged under international human rights law to fund schools that are established on a religious basis; however, if the State chooses to provide religious schools with public funding, it should make this funding available without any discrimination.4 33. The prison system is a State institution in which the Catholic Church had a monopoly of presence and participation until recent times. The Special Rapporteur received reports about the beneficial work that Catholic prison chaplains have carried out with the humanitarian purpose of alleviating the difficult situation of prison inmates. He notices with appreciation that efforts are reportedly under way to include chaplains from other denominations, especially Protestant chaplains, within the prison system. Some changes in this regard had indeed already been implemented. The Special Rapporteur encourages the authorities to pursue an inclusive approach in accordance with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.5 Rule 41 provides that a qualified representative of a religion should be appointed or approved if the institution contains a sufficient number of prisoners of that religion. Furthermore, this representative should be allowed to hold regular services and to pay pastoral visits in private to prisoners of his or her religion at proper times. While access to a qualified representative of any religion should not be refused to any prisoner, his or her possible objection to such a visit should also be fully respected. The Special Rapporteur appreciates the information provided by the Government that Catholic chaplains no longer hold a monopoly in the armed forces. 34. A controversial topic that repeatedly came up during group discussions concerned the annual registration of religious or belief communities with the Vice-Ministry of Worship. The fact that only the Catholic Church is exempted from this requirement appears to constitute privileged treatment. Members of non-Catholic religious groups indeed expressed some frustration about feeling discriminated in this regard. Moreover, some complained about the process being burdensome and increasingly bureaucratic. One example mentioned in this context was the requirement to present a good behaviour certificate from the police, which some members of minorities considered to be insulting. While the enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief per se is apparently not made dependent on registration with the State, some important status questions, such as tax 4 5 10 See A/HRC/16/53, para. 54, and Human Rights Committee communication No. 694/1996, Waldman v. Canada, para. 10.6. Adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders and approved by the Economic and Social Council in its resolutions 663 C (XXIV) and 2076 (LXII).