E/CN.4/1991/56 page 109 2. Freedom of belief is guaranteed and protected in this country. A person can embrace whatever beliefs he desires and no one can compel him to abandon or change those beliefs or prevent him from manifesting a faith. To this end, guarantees have been promulgated under which people are obliged to respect the rights of others in this regard. No one can be compelled to adopt or abandon a particular principle and dissuasion and proper guidance in this connection must be exercised with kindness and without pressure. 3. Actual practice in Mauritania shows that this freedom is guaranteed to the country's non-Muslim population, who openly profess their religions and confessions and perform their religious observances without hindrance. 4. However, notwithstanding these stipulations concerning the guaranteed right of every person to believe whatever he wishes and to openly profess his belief, persons must be compelled to respect the limitations imposed by public morality, for the protection of which laws have been promulgated. Measures must be taken to prevent the abusive use of this right. Mauritanian legislation is based on the high moral standards prevailing throughout this Muslim community, which it diligently endeavours to protect in keeping with its objective of establishing a decent, respectable society. Although this might seem to have led to an extension of the concept of crime in its visible manifestations, it has also had a more commendable and significant result, which can be seen in the high standard of ethical and moral values. 5. Article 306 of the Penal Code, to which the Special Rapporteur referred in his letter, does not apply to persons who have not embraced the Islamic faith. In fact, Mauritanian law does not treat non-Muslims in the same way as Muslims and the Penal Code itself exempts non-Muslims from many penalties and regards Muslims as liable to penalties and punishments that are not imposed on non-Muslims. 6. The Islamic religion, which plays an important role in the maintenance of security and stability, as already mentioned, is an integrated religious faith and any person who embraces it of his own free will must be assumed to have accepted all its teachings, including the rules governing apostasy, which strengthen the foundations of the society based upon it. 7. Apostasy from this religion, which guarantees so many freedoms and so much security, stability and social justice, is regarded as high treason and everyone is aware of the penalties that States impose for this type of offence, which threatens their stability and their very existence. 8. While this religion does not compel anyone to embrace it, it does not tolerate duplicity in this respect or apostasy, which are incompatible with its sacrosanct nature as a divinely-revealed religion based on immutable principles. 9. The precepts of this religion cannot be changed, since the holy law on which it is based comprises moral principles in which our society believes and any person who violates them arouses social indignation. Consequently, apostasy constitutes one of the most serious offences against the public order