E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.2 page 4 Introduction 1. From 27 February to 7 March 2005, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief carried out a visit to Nigeria in fulfilment of her mandate, at her request and at the invitation of the Government. 2. The Special Rapporteur had meetings in Abuja and Lagos, but also travelled to the cities of Kaduna (Kaduna State) and Jos (Plateau State) where she met with local officials as well as members of the civil society. 3. During her visit, she had the honour to meet the president of Nigeria, to whom she is grateful for the frank discussion. She also had meetings with a number of other Nigerian officials, including the Governor of Plateau State, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Culture, the President of the Supreme Court, and other officials dealing with questions related to the mandate on freedom of religion or belief. She also had meetings with the National Human Rights Commission, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and representatives of the National Labour Congress. Despite her efforts, she was not able to meet with members of the opposition as they were unable to receive her for a meeting. 4. The Special Rapporteur also had meetings with religious leaders, representatives of religious communities and religious organizations, including representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and of the Jama’atul Nasril Islam1 (JNI) in the different locations that she visited. 5. Consultations with non-governmental human rights organizations were organized individually and in groups at all the places that the Special Rapporteur visited. These groups included the Baobab for Women’s Human Rights, the National Association of Democratic Lawyers, Constitutional Watch, Legal Resources Consortium, Hurilaws, Legal Defence and Assistance Project, the Centre for the Rule of Law, Global Rights, Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative, Constitutional Rights Project, the Centre of Democracy and Development, Community Action for Popular Participation, and Even Development Projects. 6. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the Nigerian authorities for their invitation, the preparation of the official programme and the assistance provided during the visit. While the organization of official meetings sometimes proved laborious, in particular with regard to time management, the officials in charge of the visit were in most cases cooperative. 7. The Special Rapporteur is particularly grateful for the very positive attitude that representatives of religious groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) demonstrated during the visit. In this regard, she was impressed by the level of analysis and research that is carried out by NGOs on human rights issues and, in particular, on those related to her mandate. She considers that the high quality and dynamism of Nigerian NGOs constitute an indisputable advantage, including for the Government, in the realization of the measures that will be needed to bring the country’s religious communities to an acceptable level of harmony. Moreover, while she acknowledges that the analyses carried out by NGOs will help in addressing the root