Minority rights-based approaches to the protection and promotion of the rights of religious minorities 2013, para. 13
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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. 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.