A/69/261 5. The role of training and advisory services 64. Policies of reasonable accommodation can lead to complicated questions, problems and, at times, impasses. For instance, it may not always be easy to distinguish between serious demands put forward in the name of a person’s religious identity and mere trivial interests or unsubstantiated claims. 24 Drawing a line requires sensitivity for people’s identity-shaping convictions and practices as well as a solid understanding of the precise normative implications of freedom of religion or belief and its universal and inclusive application. Problems can also occur if parts of the management or staff are still unconvinced that reasonable accommodation of religious diversity is a meaningful purpose. Calculation of costs or possible side effects is another complicated matter that requires experience and professional knowledge. 65. The availability of appropriate training and advice is therefore of strategic importance for a successful handling of reasonable accommodation. Given the overall responsibility of States for combating all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief, States should establish an appropriate infrastructure of training and advisory services based on human rights. National human rights institutions seem ideally placed to play a key role in this area. Many national human rights institutions have already developed programmes of human rights-based diversity training which, inter alia, cater to public and private employers. Training programmes should also include sensitivity training for multiple and intersectional discrimination, for example, problems that women from religious minorities encounter in the intersection of gender-related and religious discrimination in the workplace. 66. Notwithstanding the formal responsibility of States under international human rights law, other stakeholders — such as employers and their umbrella organizations, trade unions, religious communities, civil society organizations, etc. — should each use their specific potential to contribute to combating religious intolerance and discrimination at the workplace. For example, they can offer t heir expertise to help in designing appropriate policies of reasonable accommodation and to dispel typical misperceptions, or they can facilitate an exchange of relevant experiences in this area. IV. Conclusions and recommendations 67. Given the enormous significance of the workplace, in which many people spend a large share of their daily lives, the issue of religious discrimination in the area of employment so far has received comparatively little systematic attention. However, there can be no doubt that the freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief without discrimination also applies in the workplace. 68. Although labour contracts can stipulate specific work-related obligations which, under certain conditions, may limit some manifestations of an employee’s religion or belief, they can never amount to a general waiver of this human right in the workplace. Moreover, any limitations of the right to __________________ 24 20/23 See A/HRC/13/40/Add.2, para. 16, referring to the European Court of Human Rights, Kosteski v. the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (application No. 55170/00), judgement of 13 April 2006. 14-58756