A/63/161 her conclusions and recommendations so that the rights and limitations in this area may be adequately balanced. 26. The present report will deal with citizenship issues and religious discrimination in administrative procedures in the context of freedom of religion or belief. With regard to the historical and political context of minorities and the discriminatory denial or deprivation of citizenship, the Special Rapporteur would like to refer to the latest report submitted by the independent expert on minority issues (A/HRC/7/23 and Add.1-3). In that report, the independent expert also outlines international law considerations, such as the right to a nationality, 5 the centrality of non-discrimination, citizenship, and the enjoyment of human rights, fundamental freedoms and minority rights. The independent expert emphasized that, with limited exceptions, States have a duty to protect and promote the complete panoply of human rights of all persons who are present within their territory, whether they are citizens or not. A. State practice and domestic legislation 27. Most States do not openly discriminate on the basis of religion in citizenship applications or other administrative procedures. However, the Special Rapporteur has reported on a number of instances in which State practice or domestic legislation is inconsistent with human rights standards. These reports refer for example to the denial or deprivation of citizenship based on a person’s religious affiliation, compulsory mentioning of selected religions on official identity cards or passports, requirements to denounce a particular faith when applying for official documents and restricted eligibility for State functions. 1. Citizenship dependent on affiliation with a particular religion 28. During her visit to the Maldives in August 2006, the Special Rapporteur was informed that, according to section 2 (a) of the Maldivian Citizenship Act, it was not possible for non-Muslims to obtain Maldivian citizenship. A number of interlocutors also indicated that applicants for Maldivian citizenship had to pass a test on Islam; however, the Government stated that this was not a legal requirement. A draft bill to replace the Citizenship Act with even more stringent criteria for Muslims was redrawn by the Government after debates in Parliament (A/HRC/4/21/Add.3, para. 45). 29. There are States, such as Saudi Arabia 6 and Kuwait, 7 where only Muslims obtain citizenship. In response to a letter from the Government of Saudi Arabia, the first mandate holder, Angelo Vidal d’Almeida Ribeiro, made the following observations: __________________ 5 6 7 10 As in the report of the independent expert (A/HRC/7/23, para. 18), the terms “nationality” and “citizenship” are used as synonyms for the purposes of the present report. CRC/C/136/Add.1, para. 98 (second periodic report of Saudi Arabia to the Committee on the Rights of the Child): “Although all Saudi citizens are Muslims, the State nevertheless respects the right of non-Muslim residents to their religious beliefs.” E/CN.4/1998/6, para. 58: “(c) In Kuwait, according to allegations from several sources, citizenship is denied to non-Muslims.” 08-43442