A/69/261 (including job applicants) and the rights of customers or service users. The report covers employment both in public institutions and the private sector, but does not address the autonomy of religious or religion-inspired institutions. 25. The report addresses both direct and indirect forms of religion or belief -related intolerance and discrimination in the workplace, examining existing gaps, efforts and approaches, highlighting ongoing challenges and promoting policy options to better protect religious manifestations in the workplace. It also assesses the role of reasonable accommodation, both as a legal strategy and as a tool for managing religion or belief-related diversity in the workplace. 1. Work as a fundamental part of human life 26. For most employees the workplace has a significance that goes far beyond its economic function. Besides providing an income, the workplace constitutes an important part of an employee’s everyday life, with high relevance for individual self-esteem, self-image, social connections and inclusion into community and society at large. The workplace is furthermore a place in which many people manifest their religious convictions — or wish to do so. For example, some employees wear religious garments and perform their prayers at work. Members of religious minorities may also ask for the possibility to abide by religiously prescribed dietary rules or holidays. And occasionally employees refuse to perform certain work-related activities which run contrary to their deeply held conscientious convictions. 27. While in many cases religious manifestation at the workplace does not cause any problems or is appreciated as a positive expression of diversity, there can also be instances of resistance, confrontation and intolerance. Reluctant public and private employers typically invoke issues of corporate identity, “neutrality”, contract-based stipulations, customer-orientation, health and safety and the rights of other staff members in order to prevent or restrict the open display of religious identities at work. In other situations, only the followers of mainstream religions or beliefs are granted an opportunity to manifest their convictions openly at the workplace, while individuals belonging to minority communities, sceptics, atheists or dissenters are forced to conceal their positions in order to avoid harassment by colleagues, customers or employers. Additional problems can occur when members of religious or belief minorities request seemingly “special treatment”, such as exceptions from general rules, or when individuals object to performing certain work-related activities which would go against their convictions. 4 Conflicts over such issues may result in employee dismissals or in other forms of sanctions and litigation. 5 At times, such conflicts can escalate into highly emotional debates within, and even beyond, the workplace, risking stoking resentment against religious or belief minorities. __________________ 4 5 6/23 For instance, doctors and nurses may refuse on conscientious grounds to be involved with abortions; individuals working in the food or catering industry refuse to touch alcohol, pork or other food. See, for example, European Court of Human Rights in Eweida and Others v. United Kingdom (applications Nos. 48420/10, 59842/10, 51671/10 and 36516/10), judgement of 15 January 2013. 14-58756