A/56/253 Witnesses, Ahmadi and humanists or non-believers. Particular attention was also given to the beliefs of indigenous peoples. 102. The Special Rapporteur must point out that the dividing line between this second category of communities and the “major religions” is not always clear, inasmuch as some communities can be classified, depending on who is doing the classifying — the person concerned or external observers — as either a variant of a major religion or as a separate religion, or even as a belief or organization with goals unrelated to any religion or belief. For instance, the Ahmadi claim to be Muslims and are recognized as such in some countries, including Bangladesh, but are denied such recognition in Pakistan. Similarly, the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim to be part of the Christian community and are recognized as being part of it in several States but are termed a sect by other States. Scientology is the most polemical example insofar as it calls itself a religion, is viewed as such for tax purposes in the United States, but is called a sect or even a criminal organization in certain other States, especially in Europe. 103. In terms of the evolution of violations affecting religions or beliefs, Christianity seems to be the most affected, quantitatively; it is followed by the category called “other communities of religion or belief”, that is to say especially minorities or minority groups, including sects; and by Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism. 104. Of course these evolutions must be viewed in the context of the mandate concerning freedom of religion or belief and the limits thereof (due to its very modest resources, coverage, while not selective, is limited to the main violations of freedom of religion or belief). 105. Having made this classification and analysis, it is clear that no religion or belief is sheltered from violations and that no State or category of States, no religion or belief has a monopoly on intolerance. 106. The evolution in the substance of communications, that is to say, the major trends noted since the start of the mandate, will be reflected in the context of the conclusions of this report. III. Report on preventive action concerning freedom of religion or belief 107. The Special Rapporteur considers that it is essential to continue paying particular attention to traditional activities as regards the management of the mandate but that it is also necessary to establish preventive activities, through education and interreligious dialogue. A. International consultative conference on school education in relation to freedom of religion or belief, tolerance and non-discrimination 108. Since he took over, the Special Rapporteur has felt that preventive action should focus on shaping a culture of human rights, inter alia, by using education. Indeed, education can contribute decisively to the internalization of values based on 31

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