A/HRC/43/48/Add.2 Annex Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief on his visit to Sri Lanka I. Introduction 1. The present report reflects the findings of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, on his visit to Sri Lanka from 15 to 26 August 2019, at the invitation of the Government of Sri Lanka. This was the second visit by a Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, after the late Asma Jahangir had undertaken a country visit to Sri Lanka in 2005. 2. The Special Rapporteur appreciated the cooperation of the Government and the opportunity to conduct his country visit. During his visit, in Colombo he met with the Speaker of Parliament; ministers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Wayamba Development, and Ministry of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs; the Attorney General; the Secretary for the Ministry of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs; senior officials from the Ministry of Post, Postal Services and Muslim Religious Affairs; and the Director General of the Department of Archaeology. He also attended a government stakeholder meeting chaired by the Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that included senior representatives of relevant ministries and agencies. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur met with the then leader of the opposition, in addition to the Chair of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation and the Chair of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. 3. Outside Colombo, the Special Rapporteur met with the Governor of the Northern Province and the Governor of the North Western Province. He also visited Vavuniya, Mullaittivu, Jaffna, Trincomalee, Kanniya, Batticaloa, Kattankudy, Kandy, Digana, Kurunegala, Kottamba Pitiya, Puttalam, Negombo, Kottaramulla, Pasyala, Divulapitiya, Minuwangoda and Ja-Ela. In Poonthotam and Pasyala, he met with several asylum seekers from third countries who had faced religious persecution in their countries of origin. Additionally, he met with representatives from different religious communities, civil society organizations and research institutions. II. General context A. Religious and ethnic demography 4. According to the census from 2012,1 Buddhism is the largest religion in Sri Lanka, with Buddhists comprising 70.1 per cent of the population, while Hindus, Muslims, Christians and others account for 12.6 per cent, 9.7 per cent, 6.2 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. The census indicates that most Muslims are Sunni while Christians are mainly Roman Catholic. Smaller religious communities are Baha’is, Shias (Bohra community), Sufis, Ahmadis, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Methodists, Pentecostals and Evangelicals. There are also Veddas, an indigenous community, who practise traditional beliefs. 5. The majority of the population in Sri Lanka are Sinhalese (74.9 per cent), who are predominantly Buddhist, with a small number belonging to the minority Christian community. The Tamils (15.3 per cent) are mainly Hindus, with a small number professing Christianity. Most of the Moors (9.3 per cent) are Muslims. Other ethnic groups, namely Burgher, Malay, Sri Lanka Chetty and Bharatha, form 0.5 per cent of the population. 1 2 See www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/Pages/Activities/Reports/SriLanka.pdf.