Summary

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, highlights the importance of safeguarding freedom of religion or belief for all for the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. He demonstrates how persons belonging to religious or belief minorities are at risk of “being left behind”. In the report, he proposes a set of indicators to operationalize international standards on freedom of religion or belief and calls on States to adapt the indicator framework to their own country situations to identify protection gaps and formulate measurable and timebound steps to close such gaps.