A/HRC/19/60/Add.1 IV. Religious demography 16. According to information provided by the Ministry of Education and Culture, Paraguay has altogether about 470 denominations historically identified, 220 of which have been formally registered. The vast majority of the population is Christian. 17. Data from the most recent official census (2002) indicate that 89.6 per cent of the people in Paraguay aged 10 years or older are Roman Catholic. In addition, 6.8 per cent of the population adhere to post-sixteenth-century Christian denominations, including the Assemblies of God, the Maranatha Baptist Church, the Pentecostal Church, the SeventhDay Adventists, the Church of Latter-Day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Furthermore, believers of the branches of the Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Mennonite churches that had emerged by the end of the sixteenth century constitute 0.54 per cent of the population. 18. Indigenous religions account for 0.6 per cent. Other religious minorities include Baha’is, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims and practitioners of Reiyukai and Shintoism. Around 2 per cent of the population either has no religion or did not respond to the relevant question in the 2002 census. The next official census is scheduled to be conducted in 2012. V. Mandate-related issues A. General observations on the human rights situation 19. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur was repeatedly confronted with the country’s history of dictatorship. A number of interlocutors from the State administration and civil society identified themselves as former members of the resistance movement against the authoritarian regime of Alfredo Stroessner (1954-1989). Some referred to their personal experiences of torture and other human rights abuses. They expressed their conviction that public awareness of the country’s awkward political legacy had a significant role to play for any credible human rights policy and human rights education in Paraguay. The Special Rapporteur was particularly impressed by the long-term commitment shown by members of Comité de Iglesias para Ayudas de Emergencia and other civil society organizations to document human rights abuses that occurred during the dictatorship. 20. Today, Paraguay is a liberal democracy bound by human rights that are guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution, as well as by the State’s ratification of most international human rights treaties. The Special Rapporteur witnessed many examples of the Government’s good will and serious commitment to respect, protect and further promote human rights, including the rights of indigenous peoples. The prospects of an effective human rights culture are further enhanced by civil society organizations, some of which pursue a broad human rights agenda, while others focus on specific issues, such as gender discrimination or the rights of different minorities. The Special Rapporteur appreciates the degree of professionalism that civil society organizations have obviously achieved. Another positive element is the initiation of two national plans of action by the Government. While the decision to develop a national human rights plan of action had only been made shortly before the visit, another plan, on human rights education, had already moved on to the stage of public consultations. In general, national plans of action provide an excellent opportunity for bringing together all interested stakeholders, with a view to critically identify common objectives and existing shortcomings, as well as to strengthen implementation mechanisms. 21. Although the Special Rapporteur generally noticed a strong human rights commitment in the State and society, virtually all interlocutors from Government and civil society agreed that many challenges remain to be addressed. A major problem broadly 7