A/HRC/4/21/Add.3 page 2 Summary The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir, carried out a mission to the Maldives from 6 to 10 August 2006, at the invitation of the Government. The visit was carried out pursuant to her mandate to assess the situation of freedom of religion or belief in the country. Section I of the present report provides a brief overview of the geographical, political and historical context applicable in the Maldives. Section II goes on to outline the international standards on freedom of religion or belief, which are relied upon by the Special Rapporteur when carrying out country visits to assess the situation of the freedom of religion or belief. Section III discusses the reservations made by the Government of the Maldives to relevant international standards on freedom of religion or belief and provides an overview of the relevant constitutional provisions on freedom of religion or belief. In Section IV, the Special Rapporteur analyses the situation of freedom of religion or belief in the Maldives. In particular she assesses the extent to which the Maldives guarantees, in law and in practice, the freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief, freedom from coercion, and the freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief. She also assesses the extent of discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief and focuses in particular on the right to freedom of religion or belief of vulnerable groups including persons deprived of their liberty, migrant workers, their families and other foreigners and women. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the fact that national unity is highly prized in the Maldives, but notes that the concept of national unity appears to have become inextricably linked to that of religious unity, and even religious homogeny. In this regard, she expresses her concern about a number of de jure and de facto limitations on the right to freedom of religion or belief in the Maldives, and provides a detailed set of conclusions and recommendations, intended to assist the Government in ensuring compliance with the right to freedom of religion or belief.