A/HRC/40/58 religious beliefs. On the other hand, laws against “hate speech” are an attempt to limit speech that incites hatred that results in hostility, discrimination or violence. At least 20 countries throughout the world penalize apostasy. A person who renounces his or her religion may be regarded as an apostate and subjected to punishment that may even include the death penalty. The Human Rights Committee has stressed that under no circumstances could the death penalty ever be applied as a sanction against conduct whose very criminalization violates the Covenant, including apostasy. 10 In jurisdictions where anti-apostasy laws are used to enforce religious dogma, such laws are often justified on grounds of religious doctrine. Their aim is to prevent the rejection or corruption of orthodox doctrine. They are defended as being the divine obligation of adherents of the faith whose personal commitments are enforced through public policy. Laws against apostasy are used to enforce the monopoly of certain religious beliefs and to legislate social behaviour by restricting civil liberties. No Government has expressly supported takfir, the practice of accusing Muslims, especially those in positions of leadership, of being insufficiently committed to the religion, and some countries, such as Tunisia, criminalize it. However, the existence of anti-apostasy laws may encourage takfir by armed vigilante groups and mobs. 30. Anti-conversion laws prohibit attempts to convert persons from one religion to another and, in some cases, impose punishment on the convert as well. In 2015, there were 99 countries that limited efforts by some or all religious groups to persuade people to join their faith, up from 79 countries in 2009.11 That number includes the 16.4 per cent of all States in the world that prohibited proselytizing, that is, activities to promote the conversion of persons to minority religions, and the 45.2 per cent of all States that prohibited proselytizing by foreign clergy or missionaries.12 In 2015, conversion efforts gave rise to incidents of social hostility falling short of physical violence in 25 countries. Incidents that included physical violence occurred in 27 countries. Some opponents of the unfettered right to proselytize argue that limits are necessary to preserve social order. They note that where competition between religious groups is hostile, where there is a history of religious violence or where attempts to give religion a role in public life run counter to the State’s views on that role, restrictions on proselytizing by antagonistic groups may maintain harmony in society and prevent further conflict. Others maintain that proselytizing can (and should) be restricted if it is aimed at vulnerable populations or employs coercive or deceptive methods by attempting to trick, threaten or force individuals to change their religion. 13 Such laws often violate both forum internum and forum externum aspects of the right to freedom of religion or belief. 14 31. In some cases, public order laws are used to penalize and prevent the expression of views offending religious sensibilities. Such laws are justified on the grounds that public peace has to be protected against actions by offended members of the public. Public order laws may also be used to prevent protected forms of manifestation of religion or belief, such as proselytizing and non-adherence to established religious or social conventions. Public order ordinances, for example, have been used to ban public prayer meetings, proselytization or other public manifestations of religious belief. Empirical studies show that some 6.8 per cent of countries throughout the world have restricted the public observance of religious practices, including religious holidays and the Sabbath, and 10.2 per cent have restricted activities outside religious facilities and the public display of religious symbols by private persons or organizations, including (but not limited to) religious dress, the presence or absence of facial hair, nativity scenes and icons. 15 32. As stated above, anti-blasphemy laws have increasingly fallen out of favour. Instead, States appear to be tending towards enacting laws on “hate speech”. Those are undoubtedly important, especially for the protection of minorities and other vulnerable groups. In fact, article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial 33. 10 11 12 13 14 15 8 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 36 (2018) on the right to life. Jonathan Fox, “Equal opportunity oppression: religious persecution is a global problem”, Foreign Affairs, 31 August 2015. Ibid. See A/67/303. Ibid. Fox, “Equal opportunity expression”.