PART THREE: PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS 2. Equal recognition of minority religious or belief communities and their members In many States, requirements related to the acquisition of legal status or registration of religious or belief communities discriminate either directly or indirectly against smaller groups. In some cases, denial of the legitimacy of minority religious or belief communities has extreme consequences, including the death penalty.970 The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief has set out that: Registration of religious or belief communities by the State should be enacted in a spirit and manner of servicing the human right to freedom of religion or belief. Therefore, the registration process should be quick, transparent and non-discriminatory. It should not depend on extensive formal requirements in terms of the number or the time a particular religious group has existed, nor should it put an undue burden on communities applying for registration status.971 PART THREE Religious community registration processes should “ensure equal access and non-discriminatory treatment in the application procedure for all religious communities that wish to register”.972 Registration should not be compulsory, namely it should not be a precondition for practising one’s religion, but only for the acquisition of a legal personality and related benefits. Furthermore, “no religious or belief group should be allowed to decide about the registration of another religious or belief group”.973 GUIDANCE OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief has stated that fulfilment of States’ obligations to ensure freedom of religion or belief and non-discrimination requires that: (a) States should systematically ground any activities in the area of religion or belief in a clear understanding of the due respect for every person’s freedom of religion or belief as a universal human right based on the inherent dignity of all members of the human family; (b) States should refrain from exercising pressure on religious or belief groups whose members prefer not to be registered as legal entities under domestic law; (c) States should instruct members of law enforcement and other State agencies that religious activities of non-registered religious or belief communities are not illegal, as the status of freedom of religion or belief prevails over any acts of State registration; (d) States should offer appropriate options and procedures for religious or belief communities to achieve a status of legal personality if they so wish. Administrative procedures for obtaining such a status should be enacted in a spirit of servicing the full enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief for everyone and should thus be quick, transparent, fair, inclusive and non-discriminatory; (e) All registration decisions must be based on clearly defined formal elements of law and in conformity with international law. Registration should neither depend on extensive formal requirements in terms of the number of members and the time a particular community has existed, nor should it depend on the review of the substantive content of the belief, the structure of the community and methods of appointment of the clergy; (f) States should ensure that no religious community has, de jure or de facto, the possibility to exercise a “veto” or otherwise influence the decision to register or not to register another religious or belief group; 970 Thus, for example, in its 2017 review of Pakistan, the Human Rights Committee expressed concern regarding hate crimes against religious minorities and of “blasphemy laws … that carry severe penalties, including the mandatory death penalty”, which “reportedly have a discriminatory effect, particularly on Ahmadi persons”. Similarly, the Committee has expressed concern at the treatment of Baha’is, Christians and Sunni Muslims in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including that convicted male apostates (i.e. converts from Islam) face the death penalty. See, respectively, CCPR/C/PAK/CO/1, paras. 33–34; and CCPR/C/IRN/CO/3, paras. 23–26. 971 A/HRC/19/60/Add.2, para. 82. 972 A/HRC/13/40/Add.3, para. 21. 973 A/HRC/19/60/Add.2, para. 82. 141