E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.2 page 6 All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols. 15. By resolution 1997/53, the Commission on Human Rights invited its Chairman to appoint a Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Nigeria with a mandate to establish direct contacts with the authorities and the people of Nigeria and to report to the General Assembly and the Commission. Soli Jehangier Sorabjee (India) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on 16 October 1997. The Special Rapporteur submitted three reports to the Commission on Human Rights and General Assembly before the termination of his mandate in 1999 (E/CN.4/1998/62, E/CN.4/1999/36 and A/53/366 and Add.1). 16. The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief is the first thematic special procedure of the Commission to carry out a visit in the country. It is expected that she will be followed by other special procedures mandate holders, which will provide an opportunity for the Government of Nigeria to receive an objective assessment of certain aspects of the human rights situation in the country and to improve its human rights record and capacity accordingly. II. RELIGION AND BELIEF IN NIGERIA 17. In Nigeria religion undoubtedly has a very important place in the daily lives of its citizens. A significant majority of Nigerians are not only believers but regularly attend religious services and are active members of their religious communities. For these reasons, religions also constitute a very sensitive feature of today’s Nigeria. 18. According to different sources, approximately half of the population is Muslim, about 40 per cent is Christian and the remaining 10 per cent practice traditional African religions or other beliefs, or have no religion. Religious affiliation is usually but not always linked to ethnicity. While most Hausas/Fulanis are Muslims, Yorubas and Igbos are mainly Christians. Geographically, the majority of the population of the north of the country is Muslims while most of the Christians live in the South. States of the so-called “middle belt” have both Christians and Muslims in different proportions. 19. Most Muslims are Maliki Sunnis, but there are other Muslim groups like Shias and Ahmadiyyas. The Ahmadiyya community is mainly located in the South. Christian denominations include Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Evangelicals and the Organization of African Indigenous Churches. 20. Despite her efforts, the Special Rapporteur has not been able to meet with official representatives of traditional religions,2 although she did meet with individual practitioners. Christian and Muslim issues and concerns overwhelmingly dominate the agenda, so that there is not much room for members of other faiths, whose voices are rarely heard. More significantly, most of the Special Rapporteur’s interlocutors either expressed disdain for or mocked the followers of traditional religions or minimized their numbers. 21. The reality, however, is that, according to many, a significant portion of people calling themselves Christians or Muslims have not completely abandoned traditional religious practice, although sometimes more for cultural than for religious reason. As one editorialist put it,