A/76/178 Intermarriage and mixed families 63. Recognition of intermarriage and diverse family relationships ( A/HRC/29/40, para. 23) between persons associated with diverse identity groups, and respect for the human rights of those in mixed marriages and families, is essential for enjoyment of cultural rights. 83 Adequate measures must be taken to protect and fulfil the cultural rights of intermarried persons and their families. For example, the 2008 Multicultural Families Support Act in the Republic of Korea requires the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to counter prejudice against and provide education support to such families, one of “numerous efforts made by the Government to support multicultural families… and their children as full members of society” (A/HRC/29/46/Add.1, paras. 27–28 and 48). Such measures should be expanded and replicated elsewhere. Intermarriage may be a positive result of social openness (E/CN.4/2006/16/Add.3, para. 62; and E/CN.4/1992/52, para. 87). Such marriages can promote social cohesion and intercultural understanding ( E/CN.4/2005/18/Add.3, para. 37; and E/CN.4/1997/91, para. 16). 64. Intermarried persons often face stigma, discrimination, exclusion and sometimes even violence (A/HRC/17/40, paras. 31 and 39; E/CN.4/2002/73/Add.2, paras. 49 and 117; and A/63/161, para. 37). Diverse fundamentalist groups have circulated conspiracy theories about intermarriages and even intervened to stop mixed weddings (A/72/155, para. 84). Bans on or stigma about intermarriage are often core components of discriminatory and segregationist agendas. 84 Sometimes the objection made to intermarriage is in the name of preservation of group identity. Yet, experts stress that cultural openness is more conducive to cultural survival. 85 65. Ensuring the equal rights of intermarried persons is important for the human rights, including cultural rights, of all but has particular impacts on women, whose mixed marriages are too often afforded less respect than those of men (E/CN.4/2000/65, para. 61). The Human Rights Committee has made clear that measures that do not afford equal treatment to the foreign spouses of women and of men constitute prohibited discrimination in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR/C/12/D/35/1978). 66. The cultural rights of children in intermarried families must also be respected. For example, children of international families whose parents separate may face challenges in their critical stage of identity formation owing to limits on access to the culture of a parent from whom they may be separated. 67. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief supports interfaith marriages, opposes State restrictions on them and has welcomed progress in lifting restrictions on interfaith marriages of women in Tunisia (A/HRC/40/58/Add.1, paras. 67 and 84). It called for the “aligning of family laws with article 16 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, according to which religious difference should not be an obstacle to the right to marry a person of one’s choice” (A/67/303, para. 69 (e); and A/HRC/22/51, para. 45). The Former Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance has recommended that “a wide-ranging public awareness campaign be conducted to end racism and xenophobia concerning international marriages, including recognizing the benefits that multicultural families bring to society” (A/HRC/29/46/Add.1, para. 72). __________________ 83 84 85 18/22 See Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967). See https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1091&context=nyls_law_ review, pp. 179–183. Denise Handlarski, The A-Zs of Intermarriage (New Jewish Press, 2020). 21-10019