A/HRC/55/47/Add.1 Rights, art. 18 (1)). The freedom to manifest religion or belief encompasses a broad range of acts, including ritual and ceremonial acts giving direct expression to belief, the building of places of worship, the wearing of distinctive clothing or head coverings, participation in rituals associated with certain stages of life, the freedom to choose religious leaders, priests and teachers, the freedom to establish seminaries or religious schools and the freedom to prepare and distribute religious texts or publications.9 The concept is developed further in the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (art. 6), adopted by the General Assembly in 1981. 26. While freedom of religion or belief can be limited in international human rights law, it may be subject only to such limitations “as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others” (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 18 (3)). Limitations must also be proportionate, the least intrusive and restrictive measure possible and non-discriminatory. 27. The Tajik authorities widely shared the misguided belief that the freedom to manifest religion or belief can be limited on the grounds of national security. This is explicitly not the case.10 Neither can it be subject to derogation in times of public emergency that threaten the life of the nation (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 4 (2)). V. Manifestation of religion or belief in practice in Tajikistan A. Worship 28. According to the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations Act, religious associations operate in the form of religious communities and religious organizations (art. 10.1). The Act establishes the types of religious community, which include Friday prayer mosques, five-time prayer mosques, jama’at khanehs (Ismaili prayer houses), preaching houses and others that are not in contradiction with the law. 29. The Act sets strict limits on the number of mosques and provides that grand (Friday prayer) mosques can be established in areas where the population is between 10,000 and 20,000 people. Five-time prayer mosques can be established in areas where the population is between 100 and 1,000 inhabitants. In practice, that means that, while Muslim men may, at best, be able to attend local mosques for daily prayers, they have to travel long distances for Friday prayers, in effect putting congregational Friday prayer out of reach for most and imposing private practice of this congregational prayer. 30. When the Special Rapporteur proposed that imams who offer the Friday sermon should be considered civil servants, the authorities claimed that, as the pay that such imams receive through State channels is informal and low, it should not be considered a salaried post. The text of the Friday sermon, however, is passed to such imams to read along with any Presidential announcements. In recent years, the State Committee for Religious Affairs and Regulation of Traditions, Ceremonies and Rituals has organized special training courses for such imams and religious leaders and has banned imams trained in countries such as Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia from acting as imams in Tajikistan, concluding that this has harmed the religious calm of Tajikistan. 31. The number and regulation of mosques and other places of worship nationwide leads to severe restrictions on the freedom to manifest religion or belief through worship. Thousands of mosques have been refused and closed down through the State Committee for Religious Affairs approval process. At the same time, the largest mosque in Central Asia, funded by Qatar, with a capacity to accommodate 115,000 persons was recently inaugurated in Dushanbe. The large-scale closure of jama’at khaneh leaves only three remaining, one in Khorugh, one in Dushanbe and a small one in Jayhun district, which is wholly inadequate for 9 10 6 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 22 (1993), para. 4. See Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security: Policy Guidance (2019). GE.24-00093