A/HRC/34/50 43. The Special Rapporteur notes that unlawful restrictions imposed by States on manifestations of the right to freedom of religion or belief are common, recurring and continue to comprise the majority of violations of this right. A review of information published by United Nations human rights mechanisms, including the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review and the treaty bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee, shows that many States rely on restrictions as the rule and not the exception, and often fail to provide any justification for limiting the right to freedom of religion or belief pursuant to the criteria laid out in article 18 (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. When States give a justification for restricting manifestations of this right, they often do so with vague or overly broad regulations that fail to meet the strict requirements of article 18 (3). B. Non-discrimination and equality, and persons and groups in vulnerable situations 44. Article 2 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights requires State parties to respect and ensure that all individuals within their territory enjoy the rights recognized in the Covenant “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status”. It is the cornerstone of the principle of non-discrimination in international human rights law. The principle of non-discrimination applies to both the enjoyment and lawful restriction of this right. Indeed, in the view of the Special Rapporteur, a claim for equality for all is inherent to the right to freedom of religion or belief. 45. Nonetheless, a large percentage of discriminatory provisions imposed by States and actions taken by non-State actors are based on religion or belief, and disproportionately target religious minorities or, more generally, those deemed “non-believers”. As already noted, while official status or recognition for a particular religion or belief does not per se violate a State’s obligations under article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the right to freedom of religion or belief is most challenged when the State assumes the role of guardian or custodian of certain truth claims rooted in a majority religion (or in a few cases, minority religion). The Special Rapporteur notes that, in certain States where religion has been given “official” or privileged status, other fundamental rights of individuals – especially women, religious minorities and members of the LGBTI community – are disproportionately restricted or vitiated under threat of sanctions as a result of obligatory observation of State-imposed religious orthodoxy, such as wearing the hijab or the need to conceal sexual orientation or gender identity. The right to freedom of religion or belief is further challenged by attempts by States to impose a doctrinal secularism as noted above, to sanitize the public sphere of concepts associated with religious or belief systems. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that State-religion relationships can, both directly and indirectly, lead to the unintended or deliberate perpetuation of discriminatory practices that undermine the right to freedom of religion or belief of minority communities. 46. In response, discussions held at the international level on discrimination against religious minorities have advanced significantly in recent decades, a trend that should be welcomed and encouraged. Apart from the ongoing need to tackle direct and open manifestations of discrimination, there is a need for greater sensitivity to more obscure forms of discrimination, such as prima facie “neutral” rules prescribing certain dress codes in public institutions. Although they usually do not target a specific community openly, such rules can amount to discrimination against persons belonging to religious minorities if those persons (often women) follow their conscience in following a particular dress code. Similar problems may arise with regard to dietary rules, fasting, public holidays, labour 14