A/67/303 I. Introduction 1. In 1986, the Commission on Human Rights created the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief by its resolution 1986/20. In 2007, the Human Rights Council renewed the Special Rapporteur’s mandate in its resolution 6/37 and, in 2010, extended it for a further period of three years in its resolution 14/11. Heiner Bielefeldt was appointed Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief at the fourteenth session of the Council and assumed his function on 1 August 2010. 2. In section II of the present report, the Special Rapporteur provides an overview of his activities since the submission of his previous report to the General Assembly (A/66/156). In section III, he focuses on the right of conversion as part of freedom of religion or belief. Section IV provides his conclusions and recommendations to various actors in this regard. II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 3. The Special Rapporteur conducted various activities between 1 August 2011 and 31 July 2012 pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 6/37 and 14/11. A. Country visits 4. The Special Rapporteur undertook country visits to the Republic of Moldova (1 to 8 September 2011) and Cyprus (29 March to 5 April 2012). The report on his visit to the Republic of Moldova (A/HRC/19/60/Add.2) was presented at the nineteenth session of the Human Rights Council in March 2012 and the report on his visit to Cyprus is to be presented at the Council’s twenty-second session. 1 The Special Rapporteur expresses his appreciation to all his interlocutors and officials for the excellent cooperation they extended to him during his visits. He hopes that the recommendations provided following the visits will be considered and implemented to overcome any existing or emerging obstacles and to reinforce efforts towards promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief. 5. Additional country visits are currently being scheduled. Updated information about the Special Rapporteur’s visits and related requests is available on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). 2 6. On 30 November 2011, the Special Rapporteur sent follow-up letters concerning country visits undertaken by the previous mandate holder in 2009, including her missions to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Serbia (including a visit to Kosovo) and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Follow-up tables with the conclusions and recommendations from the related mission report and information from the Government and relevant United Nations documents, __________________ 1 2 4 The Special Rapporteur’s statement at the conclusion of his visit to Cyprus is available from www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12042&LangID=E. See www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/special/countryvisitsa-e.htm. 12-46130