A/63/161 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief was created by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1986/20. 1 In its resolution 6/37, 2 the Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further period of three years and invited the Special Rapporteur: (a) To promote the adoption of measures at the national, regional and international levels to ensure the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief; (b) To identify existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief and present recommendations on ways and means to overcome such obstacles; (c) To continue her/his efforts to examine incidents and governmental actions that are incompatible with the provisions of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief and to recommend remedial measures as appropriate; (d) To continue to apply a gender perspective, inter alia, through the identification of gender-specific abuses, in the reporting process, including in information collection and recommendations. 2. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur gives an overview of the activities that have been carried out under the mandate since her previous report to the General Assembly (A/62/280 and Corr.1), discusses citizenship issues and religious discrimination in administrative procedures as a cross-cutting substantive topic of her mandate and sets out a number of conclusions and recommendations in this regard. II. Activities of the mandate 3. In line with Human Rights Council resolution 6/37, the Special Rapporteur undertakes multiple activities, focusing on monitoring, communication, protection, prevention and analysis, so that pertinent recommendations can be made for the consideration of the Council and other United Nations bodies. The Special Rapporteur receives a vast amount of information concerning her mandate. She communicates reliable information emanating from credible sources to the Government of the concerned State. Country visits are undertaken for a variety of reasons, including in search of solutions to the complex issues of freedom of religion or belief. During field visits and other activities related to the mandate, the Special Rapporteur seeks to engage in a dialogue with Governments in the light of the observations, conclusions and recommendations she presents in the course of her work. She shares her analysis with the Government concerned and documents this in her reports. As part of her preventive efforts, the Special Rapporteur has been involved in various forms of inter-religious dialogue and in brainstorming on issues arising out of her mandate. She remained abreast of efforts to develop educational __________________ 1 2 4 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1986, Supplement No. 2 (E/1986/22), chap. II, sect. A. See A/HRC/6/22, chap. I. 08-43442