A/68/268 economic, political and social rights. Analysis of the communications reports of Special Procedures since 2011 2 reveals violations including: limits on, and the denial of, registration; fining owing to the possession of religious literature and bans on that literature; refusing to allow preaching without permits; prohibiting religious activity and restrictions on the right to assemble, worship and practice; forced reeducation and the denial of access to education; arrest, arbitrary detention, imprisonment and prosecution of conscientious objectors; the closure of monasteries and the refusal of permission to renovate or construct places of worship; the destruction of religious property, historic sites and graves; disbanding religious gatherings; and prohibiting the observance of religious holidays and celebrations. 12. The communications reports also reveal acts of harassment, intimidation, violence and sexual abuse, including: threats against activists and lawyers who represent religious minorities; attempts at forcible conversion or recantation under threat of death; threats, interrogation, abduction and kidnapping; deportation, expulsion, disappearances and death threats; forced labour and torture in order to obtain false confessions; searches and raids of homes, and confiscation of property; hate-motivated attacks on property; and mob violence, suicide bombings and execution. 13. The Pew Research Center has observed that harassment or intimidation of specific religious groups occurred in 160 countries in 2011, the same number as in the year ending in mid-2010. Based on a five-year study, it found that religious groups had been harassed in a total of 185 countries at one time or another over this period. 3 The weight of information received by the Independent Expert and the extent and nature of rights violations, including violations of minority rights, suggest that some States continue to pursue an intentional policy of discrimination, persecution and violations against persons belonging to religious minorities. 14. The violations faced by religious minorities lie at the intersection of a number of realities, including the State’s religion or ideology relationship, the State’s demographic makeup, the constitutional and legislative framework, the personal status laws, intercommunal relationships and the role of non-State actors — each of them and their combined effect have a profound impact on the human rights situation of religious minorities. Historical, geopolitical and inter-State factors may in some cases exacerbate the discrimination, exclusion and vulnerability experienced by religious minorities. National and international human rights responses to the challenges faced by religious minorities must seek to uphold their equal enjoyment of international human rights, including through the protection and promotion of minority rights. 15. International standards require the enjoyment on an equal basis of all human rights by all. 4 However, many State religion and State ideology relationships result __________________ The communications reports of Special Procedures since the eighteenth session of the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/18/51 and Corr.1; A/HRC/19/44; A/HRC/20/30; A/HRC/21/49; A/HRC/22/67 and Corrs.1 and 2; A/HRC/23/51) include 46 communications in relation to 22 States from all regions regarding violations of the rights of religious minorities that are particularly relevant to this report. 3 See Pew Research Center, Religion and Public Life Project, study entitled “Arab Spring Adds to Global Restrictions on Religion”, 20 June 2013, available from http://www.pewforum.org/2013/ 06/20/arab-spring-restrictions-on-religion-findings.aspx#changesgr. 4 See Human Rights Committee, General comment No. 22 (48) (art. 18) (CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, para. 9). 2 13-41869 5/23