A/HRC/58/49 B. Intersection of freedom of religion or belief and the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment outside places of deprivation of liberty 1. Discriminatory policies and systemic discrimination 44. Having established that coercion is a key link between the rights being examined in the present report, it is essential to illustrate the situations in which such acts can occur. The Human Rights Committee explains that article 18 (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights “bars coercion that would impair the right to have or adopt a religion or belief, including the use of threat of physical force or penal sanctions to compel believers or non-believers to adhere to their religious beliefs and congregations, to recant their religion or belief or to convert”. It also states that “policies or practices having the same intention or effect of coercion, such as … those restricting access to education, medical care, employment or the rights guaranteed by article 25 and other provisions of the Covenant, are similarly inconsistent with article 18 (2). The same protection is enjoyed by holders of all beliefs of a non-religious nature.”62 It therefore underscores that coercion, and threat of penal sanction, do not only take place within institutions. 45. The jurisprudence of regional human rights bodies confirms this understanding, even where those treaties do not specifically mention the prohibition of coercion that impairs freedom of religion or belief. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights found that the Sudan had violated the rights to freedom of religion or belief and the prohibition of torture in a case where non-Muslims were coerced to change their beliefs through denial of work, food aid and education. The Commission stated that “these attacks on individuals on account of their religious persuasion considerably restrict their ability to practice freely the religion to which they subscribe”.63 46. Systemic discrimination based on religion or belief can also amount to coercion. Several civil society organizations have reported regular incidents of communal violence due to religion or belief, where perpetrators enjoy impunity.64 The Special Rapporteur has also received communications regarding individuals tortured by non-State actors with the aim of changing their beliefs and where the police refused to act.65 2. Disrespect for burial rituals and destruction of cemeteries 47. One insidious form of coercion is disrespect for burial rituals and destroying cemeteries. Not respecting the religious rituals associated with the dead and the desecration of cemeteries, mausoleums and burial grounds are discriminatory practices that are often targeted at members of religious minorities.66 The question for the present report is whether or not these actions can reach the threshold of torture or ill-treatment. 48. The Human Rights Committee has emphasized that freedom to manifest religion or belief extends to “rituals associated with certain stages of life”, which evidently includes burial rituals.67 The Committee against Torture has also upheld that States have a duty to return the bodies of deceased people to their families so they can be “buried in accordance with their traditions and religious customs”.68 49. In addition, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief upholds that freedom of religion or belief includes the freedom “to worship or assemble in connection with a religion or belief, and to 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 10 General comment No. 22 (1993), para. 5. Amnesty International and Others v. Sudan, para. 76. Submissions from Forum 18, Bangladesh civil society organizations, International Human Rights Committee, Myanmar Freedom of Religion or Belief Network, Association of Reintegration of Crimea and South Asia Forum for Freedom of Religion or Belief; see also Minority Rights Group International, “Under threat: the challenges facing religious minorities in Bangladesh” (2016). See, for example, A/59/366, para. 59. See, for example, A/HRC/13/40, para. 35. General comment No. 22 (1993), para. 4. CAT/C/ISR/CO/5, para. 43. GE.24-24412