E/CN.4/2005/61 page 5 Introduction 1. This report is submitted pursuant to resolution 2004/36 of the Commission on Human Rights. It is the first annual report submitted to the Commission by Asma Jahangir since her appointment as Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief by the Chairman of the Commission on 9 July 2004. 2. Since 1987, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief has been examining incidents and government measures in all parts of the world that are incompatible with the provisions of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief and has recommended remedial measures for such situations. Since then, 17 general reports have been submitted to the Commission and 17 reports on in situ visits; 10 interim reports have also been submitted to the General Assembly since 1994. 3. The present report covers the activities carried out under the mandate on freedom of religion or belief since the submission of the previous report to the Commission (E/CN.4/2004/63 and Add.1 and 2). It therefore includes communications sent by the previous mandate-holder, Abdelfattah Amor, as well as Governments’ replies to these communications. 4. The report is divided into six sections. Section I provides a description of the mandate entrusted to the Special Rapporteur. In section II, the Special Rapporteur presents the activities that have been undertaken under the mandate during the period under review. Section III is an analysis of particular situations involving violations to freedom of religion or belief. Section IV provides observations on general issues of freedom of religion and section V addresses other aspects of the mandate. Finally, in section VI, the Special Rapporteur develops her conclusions and recommendations. 5. For the first time since the creation of the mandate, the Special Rapporteur is presenting to the Commission an addendum to the main report summarizing the communications transmitted during the period under review and the replies received from States. She intends to continue this method in the coming years. 6. As underlined in her report to the General Assembly (A/59/366), the Special Rapporteur would like to express her appreciation for the work that has been accomplished by her predecessor Abdelfattah Amor over the last 11 years. His dedication to freedom of religion or belief has been demonstrated through his various reports and his imprint on the mandate will remain in a number of areas. I. THE MANDATE A. Terms of reference 7. By its resolution 1986/20 of 10 March 1986, the Commission on Human Rights appointed a Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance to examine “incidents and governmental actions in all parts of the world which are inconsistent with the provisions of