A/55/280 inviting the Special Rapporteur to visit so as to enable him to fulfil his mandate even more effectively. 102. The Special Rapporteur wishes to emphasize that a number of States (having different political, economic, social and religious profiles) have already cooperated by receiving in situ visits: they are, in chronological order, China, Pakistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Greece, Sudan, India, Australia, Germany, United States of America, Viet Nam, and the two States most recently visited, Turkey and Bangladesh. 103. The Special Rapporteur also wishes to draw attention to his initiative designed to supplement these so-called “traditional” visits with visits to the main communities of religion or belief in order to start or pursue a direct dialogue on the Declaration of 1981 and all relevant issues relating to freedom of religion or belief and to consider solutions to the problems of intolerance and discrimination in that area. To that end, the Special Rapporteur visited the Holy See in September 1999 (see document E/CN.4/2000/65). This, inter alia, helped him gain a better understanding of the approach taken by the Roman Catholic Church to freedom of religion and belief, be enriched by the Vatican’s experience concerning relations between communities in the area of religion and belief, and consider specific issues such as women, the family and education. 104. The Special Rapporteur naturally intends to continue this process with other religions such as Islam, Judaism, non-Catholic Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and others. He will try to understand the full diversity and richness of the currents that each religion represents while, if possible, identifying common values and approaches regarding fundamental issues relating to freedom of religion and belief, in the context of human rights. 105. Parallel to these visits, it is necessary to continue with the so-called “traditional” visits and with their specific follow-up procedure, which the Special Rapporteur introduced back in 1996, whereby each visit results in the sending of a follow-up table summarizing the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations and inviting the State concerned to provide comments and any pertinent information concerning measures the Government has taken or is considering taking to implement the recommendations. Most of the States visited (China, Greece, India, 24 Pakistan, the Sudan) have cooperated in this follow-up procedure; in fact, it is an instrument for continued dialogue between the Special Rapporteur and the Governments, and it has been encouraged by the Commission on Human Rights for all special procedures mandates concerning human rights. The Special Rapporteur is continuing his dialogue with the Islamic Republic of Iran to follow up the recommendations he made during his in situ visit. He would also like to point out that, in its concluding observations on that country, of 1 June 2000 (CRC/15/Add.123), the Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended the State party to take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the grounds or religion or belief in the recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms in all fields of civil, economic, political, social and cultural life; and to make every effort to enact or rescind, where necessary, legislation, to prohibit any such discrimination and to take all appropriate measures, including public education campaigns, to combat intolerance on the grounds of religion or other belief; endorsed the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on the question of religious intolerance following his visit to the State party (E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.2), and recommended that the State party implement them fully. 106. On 17 February 2000, the Special Rapporteur sent reminders to Germany and Australia concerning the follow-up tables sent on 28 September 1998; he is still waiting for a reply from them. Lastly, on 17 February 2000, the Special Rapporteur began the follow-up procedure with the United States of America and Viet Nam (see report on the visit to the United States of America (E/CN.4/1999/58/Add.1), sect. III; report on the visit to Viet Nam (E/CN.4/1999/58/Add.2), sect. IV). The Special Rapporteur encourages these States to cooperate fully in the follow-up to the in situ visits. In that connection, he recalls that the Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 2000/86 of 27 April 2000, on human rights and thematic procedures, invited the Governments concerned to study carefully the recommendations addressed to them under thematic procedures and to keep the relevant mechanisms informed without undue delay on the progress made towards their implementation.