A/HRC/61/50/Add.1 56. The Special Rapporteur notes that such indirect discrimination or silent suffering, on a daily basis, results in a sense of inequality. In order to prevent cultural alienation and promote mutual understanding, it is imperative to encourage more interreligious dialogue, dialogue between religions and between religions and beliefs. A culture of open and safe communication based on trust between State authorities and religious and belief communities is crucial in addressing such questions frankly and openly. 57. A focus on the situation of Muslims in Zambia illustrates a number of these challenges. 58. The Muslim community is predominantly Sunni, with small groups of Ismaili and Twelver Shia Muslims. According to the Lusaka Muslim Society, there are approximately 100,000 Muslims in the country, including refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and from Somalia. Both Sunni and Shia Muslims are primarily concentrated in Lusaka, Eastern and Copperbelt Provinces. Many of these Zambian citizens are migrants or descendants of migrants from South Asia, the Middle East and Somalia. 59. While some successes of Zambian Muslims are lauded, many instances remain of Muslim citizens who are unaware of how, or do not have the ability, to negotiate the system, and face discrimination. One regrettably common example of discrimination suffered is faced by black Muslim women who wear the hijab and are called names such as “Boko Haram”. Muslim women wearing the hijab even face obstacles in the professions; for example, they cannot access public institutions such as Maina Soko Military Hospital. Most such cases remain unreported. 60. It is commonly assumed that people of Zambian origin are Christians, hence black people identifiable as Muslim face particular challenges. Zambians who are migrants or descendants of migrants and entered the trades face less objection to being Muslim. There are also significant differences in poverty rates between different (black and Asian origin) Muslim communities and in their ability to set up adequate provision for the enjoyment of their faith. Intersectional discrimination is also experienced. Relations between Zambian-born Muslims and other Muslims originating, for example, from South and East Asia, East Africa and the Middle East are sometimes strained, and foreign-born Muslims do not recognize the Islamic Supreme Council of Zambia mother body which is led by Zambian-born Muslims. There have been some tensions between Sunni and Ahmadi Muslims and tensions between different Christian denominations – some of which have been resolved with dialogue. 61. The injustices experienced by the Muslim community have given rise to many initiatives, including the National Muslim Committee on Socio-Economic Justice which was set up to use the Committee members’ developmental and governance experience to sensitize Muslim communities on their human, civil and governance rights. These fall far short of the need, and need to be boosted. E. Role of religious communities 62. Authorities at both the national and the provincial levels have historically been convinced that religious communities are strong interlocutors in the arenas of governance, democracy and development. Religious communities are presented by many authorities as partners and regular stakeholders, especially in the education and health sectors, with 60% of the country’s health services42 provided by religious actors. 63. In concrete instances of inviting stakeholders to the table, however, there is a prioritization of “the three” Church mother bodies, namely the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), followed by the other churches and then these churches along with one or two non-Christian representatives. The full list of 15 recognized religious entities (see para. 34 above) is neither well known to the authorities nor well announced. 42 GE.26-02761 Reportedly provided by the Catholic Church throughout Zambia. 11