E/CN.4/1990/46 page 60 111. Regarding communications informing of legal action taken against certain members of sects or religious associations, the Special Rapporteur believes it would be appropriate to await the final decisions of the courts, although he wishes to add that such legal proceedings should be concluded within a reasonable time. Long procedural delays can be harmful to the parties to a dispute and detrimental to the image of a State. Moreover, to allow a trial to drag on for years is a denial of justice sometimes more serious than the allegations that led to the legal action. In any event, the Special Rapporteur is of the opinion that the possible sentencing of one or more individuals in a criminal trial does not mean a condemnation of the religion or belief that they consider themselves to serve. All religions have already experienced similar situations without being themselves affected. 112. The Special Rapporteur also wishes to express his concern about the difficulties created by certain States in regard to the religious practices of foreigners who hold religious beliefs different from those held by the majority of the nationals of those States. In many cases, such difficulties consist not only in the prohibition of the building of either churches or chapels, but even in the prohibition of private worship. In some cases, such restrictions are imposed by Governments which have been authorized to build places of worship in the countries of origin of those whom they prevent from practising their faith in public. Not long ago s Pope John Paul II said in reference to this situation: "Allow me to confide in you. It is not difficult to understand the astonishment and frustration felt by Christians, say in Europe, who readily welcome believers of other religions and allow them to practise their faith, when they are refused similar rights in countries where such believers are a majority and their religion is the State religion." The Special Rapporteur believes that what is lacking here is the respect for the principle of reciprocity, widely accepted in international law and the day-to-day practice of international relations. Respect for this principle in the context described above, would certainly contribute to enhancing religious tolerance on a world-wide scale. 113. The Special Rapporteur would like to draw attention to another limitation in the existing international instruments with regard to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief. A broadly based school of legal thought maintains that the individual should be free not only to choose among different theistic creeds and to practise the one of his choice freely, but also to have the right to view life from a non-theistic perspective without facing disadvantages vis-a-vis believers. The Special Rapporteur thinks that, in the same way as believers must enjoy their right to practise their religion unhindered, non-believers (freethinkers, agnostics and atheists) should not be discriminated against. The rights of non-believers should be properly guaranteed in a new international instrument. 114. In the analysis of the information received, the Special Rapporteur has established that the most important obstacles to the implementation of the Declaration are, inter alia: the existence of provisions in national laws which run counter to the spirit and letter of the Declaration; governmental practices which often conflict with both national laws and international instruments on the matter; persistent economic, political and cultural factors; the influence of complex historical processes on current manifestations of religious intolerance, such as distrust and clashes between members of various religious communities which generate sectarian and intransigent attitudes; extremist and fanatical opinions originating from a