A/69/261 16. On 12 February 2014, the Special Rapporteur participated in a conference on the theme “The state of freedom of religion or belief in the world”, organized in Brussels at the European Parliament, following the presentation of the first annual report produced by the European Parliament Working Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief. 17. Between 17 and 27 February 2014, the Special Rapporteur conducted an unofficial visit to India, where he participated in a numbe r of civil society meetings and seminars and gave public lectures. 18. Between 10 and 14 March 2014, the Special Rapporteur presented his reports to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fifth session (A/HRC/25/58, Add.1 and Add.2) and participated in a number of side events. 19. On 8 May 2014, the Special Rapporteur attended a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Human Dimension Committee in Vienna and gave a presentation on freedom of religion or belief as part of a human rights-based peace agenda. 20. Between 15 and 18 May, the Special Rapporteur conducted a visit to the Republic of Moldova to follow up on his recommendations of his report on his official visit in 2011. He also participated in a round table with religious communities and civil society organizations in the Republic of Moldova and conducted a field visit to the Transnistrian region. 21. On 19 and 20 June 2014, the Special Rapporteur attended a conference on freedom of religion or belief organized by a consortium of universities in Rome. 22. The Special Rapporteur additionally held many meetings with government representatives, religious or belief communities, civil society organizations and academic experts working in the area of freedom of religion or belief. He produced comments on draft legislation affecting freedom of religion or belief, delivered video messages, released media reports and gave numerous interviews to international media. III. Tackling religious intolerance and discrimination in the workplace A. Introduction 23. The management of religious or belief diversity in the workplace constitutes a major challenge for today’s employment policy. An increasingly diverse and mobile global workforce, expanded manufacturing demands and new production schedules can lead to conflicts between professional and religious identities and duties. Given the salience of the topic and the increasing importance of religious or belief identity among certain groups, the Special Rapporteur has decided to dedicate the present report to exploring how the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief can be appropriately implemented in the workplace and what measures States, employers and other stakeholders should take to overcome intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief in this context. 24. The issue affects employer responsibilities for policies and practices affecting the right to freedom of religion or belief in the workplace, the r ights of employees 14-58756 5/23

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