A/HRC/43/72
L.
Encouraging the representation and meaningful participation of
individuals, irrespective of their religion, in all sectors of society22
70.
Iraq reported that the Constitution guaranteed the rights of all minorities in the
country. Religious minorities were allocated a quota of seats in the national parliament and
in the regional councils, and they had the right to speak, learn and operate in their
languages. Law No. 58 of 2012, which regulated religious property, had been amended to
make specific reference to the Yazidi, Christian, Saabia and Mendaiya religious confessions
present in Iraq. Through the judgment of a federal court, the legality of Christian tribunals
established in accordance with the laws of the country had been confirmed. The University
of Baghdad had a department of Syriac languages and all confessions were represented in
the army, the security forces and the intelligence services.
M.
Making a strong effort to counter religious profiling, which is
understood to be the invidious use of religion as a criterion in
conducting questionings, searches and other law enforcement
investigative procedures23
71.
During criminal investigations the Danish police was obliged to follow Danish
legislation, which prohibited any kind of discrimination on the basis of faith, race, skin
colour, national or ethnic origin and sexual orientation. Students at the police academy were
taught to combat and prevent ethnic profiling, including religious profiling, and to avoid
discrimination of any kind when conducting investigations and other law enforcement
activities.
72.
In line with the requirements and obligations prescribed by the Fundamental Law of
Hungary, the provisions of criminal law, including provisions on criminal procedure, were
drafted so as to avoid differentiating between the rights to be enjoyed and the obligations of
the defendants based on their religion or religious belief.
III. Activities undertaken by the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights to support
implementation of the action plan
73.
In addition to carrying out the above-mentioned actions, OHCHR works on the
various dimensions of religious intolerance, including multiple discrimination, xenophobia,
migration, freedom of religion or belief, religious profiling and incitement to racial,
national or religious hatred.
74.
Through its field presences, OHCHR works on those issues through training
sessions, workshops and advisory services and, upon request, by reviewing draft antidiscrimination laws and constitutional amendments. It has also supported several States and
specialized bodies in developing national action plans against racism.
75.
In 2019 OHCHR organized regional workshops in Marrakech, Djibouti and Tunis
on implementing the Beirut Declaration on Faith for Rights, 24 enhancing the civic space and
addressing hate speech in social media. Furthermore, it finalized a training manual for
judicial training institutions in the Middle East and North Africa on the protection of
freedom of opinion and expression and the prohibition of hate speech.
76.
OHCHR manages a public database25 that includes relevant information on all the
issues contained in the action plan.
22
23
24
25
Ibid., para. 8 (c).
Ibid., para. 8 (d).
A/HRC/40/58, annexes I and II.
https://adsdatabase.ohchr.org.
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