E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.2 page 11 resulting sometimes in the complete destruction of the places built. In some instances, the difficulties related to the construction of a place of worship have been resolved through the mediation of an organized interreligious dialogue at the local level. 44. In many places the climate of fear created by religious tensions and violence has prevented Nigerians from fully enjoying their right to practise and manifest their religion. Freedom of religion or belief, like other human rights, is properly enjoyed where a satisfactory level of security exists. If one is afraid to leave home to go to church or to go outside in Muslim dress, freedom of religion is restricted even though not directly imposed by the authorities, or even by members of another religious community. 45. The level of insecurity in certain areas of Nigeria can also be attributed to religious reasons, which makes the right to freedom of religion even more vulnerable. Nigerians can legitimately claim that they do not feel secure to freely practise their religion because they may feel targeted because of their religious identity. The Special Rapporteur notes in this regard that a similar conclusion was reached by the Human Rights Committee in its concluding observations of 24 July 1996, in which it stated that “[i]nter-ethnic and inter-religious violence which persist in Nigeria appear to affect adversely the enjoyment of rights and freedoms protected by the Covenant”, which includes the right to freedom of religion (CCPR/79/Add.65, para. 6). 46. For these reasons, and also those related to the adoption of sharia penal codes in several states, the Special Rapporteur is of the opinion that the level of enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief is not satisfactory. Moreover, she is concerned that the increase in religious tensions may further hamper the enjoyment of this right among the Nigerian population. V. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SHARIA IN CRIMINAL MATTERS Background and nature of sharia 47. Since 1999, the legal and religious picture of Nigeria has significantly changed, in particular because several states of the north have decided to extend the scope of application of Islamic law to include criminal matters (hereafter “Islamic criminal law”) through the drafting and adoption of sharia penal codes. 48. The first to take this path was Zamfara State in 1999. It was quickly followed by 11 other states, in the north and populated by a majority of Muslims: Kano, Katsina, Niger, Bauchi, Kaduna, Sokoto, Borno, Gombe, Kebbi, Jigawa and Yobe. While most of these states already applied Islamic law in certain civil matters, mainly personal law, they used the Zamfara sharia penal code as model, except for relatively minor points. Many commentators have in this regard pointed to the fact that a number of these codes had been adopted in haste and contained mistakes and inaccuracies, or were incomplete. 49. A common feature of these new legal systems and an argument often used in support of their application is that they are only applicable to Muslims, people from other faiths remaining subject to the old penal code. It has, however, been mentioned that in some cases, non-Muslims may opt for the application of Islamic laws, including in the cases where sentences are lighter than those of the otherwise applicable general law.