A/73/362 I. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 1. The Special Rapporteur undertook a visit to Tunisia from 9 to 19 April 2018. He will present the report on that mission at the fortieth session of the Human Rights Council, to be held in March 2019. He has also accepted an invitation from the Government of Sri Lanka to visit that country in December 2018. 2. During the reporting period, the Special Rapporteur continued to participate in international gatherings related to the right to freedom of religion or belief. He participated in a meeting of the International Contact Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief held in Geneva on 6 March 2018, and attended a workshop on interreligious dialogue held in the Sudan on 8 and 9 May. On 23 May, he attended a symposium on freedom of religion or belief, cultural rights and women held in Geneva. In Vienna, on 5 June, the Special Rapporteur addressed the Human Dimension Committee of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and on 12 June he participated in the Global Media Forum held in Bonn, Germany. He also took part in discussions with the Working Party on Human Rights and the Working Party on Fundamental Rights, Citizens Rights and Free Movement of Persons of the Council of the European Union in Brussels on 13 June. On 28 June, he attended a consul tation in Geneva on ways to improve the engagement of the mandate with monitors of anti -Semitism. He participated in a consultation on the Rabat Plan of Action and Asia held in Geneva on 29 June and attended the “Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom” in Washington, D.C., on 25 and 26 July. II. Relationship between freedom of religion or belief and national security 3. The “war on terrorism” since the beginning of the twenty-first century has been marked by extraordinary national security measures which have resulted in myriad violations and abuses of fundamental human rights and principles, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. Amid legitimate demands to ensure public safety and national security, Governments have instituted stricter regulations on religious expression and the role of religion or belief in the public sphere, both online and off. Some States have instituted discriminatory practices that intentionally or unintentionally target individual adherents or groups of persons of a particular faith they perceive to be predisposed to terrorist or other violent acts. Others have adopted measures which violate the right to form and hold opinions based on conscience, especially those beliefs deemed objectionable or offensive to oth ers or infringe on the forum internum of the right to freedom of religion or belief. 4. In less than a decade, stakeholders began to recognize the complexities of the challenges posed by this type of violence and acknowledged the need for a more comprehensive approach which encompasses not only ongoing, essential security based counter-terrorism measures but also systematic preventive measures which directly address the drivers of violent extremism and terroristic acts (see A/70/674). 1 The new approach recognized the importance of countering both the immediate triggers of terrorism and the root causes that foster conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism. The new strategy also stressed the importance of addre ssing the rights of the victims of violent extremism and terrorism as well as those whose rights have __________________ 1 18-14697 There is no internationally agreed definition of “violent extremism”. However, the emerging usage within the United Nations is “violent extremism … conducive to terrorism” (see Security Council resolution 2178 (2014)). See also paras. 23–27 below. 3/22