A/56/253 I. Introduction 1. At its forty-second session, the Commission on Human Rights decided, by resolution 1986/20 of 10 March 1986, to appoint for one year a special rapporteur to examine incidents and governmental actions in all parts of the world inconsistent with the provisions of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (resolution 36/55), and to recommend remedial measures for such situations. 2. Pursuant to resolution 1986/20, the Special Rapporteur has submitted 15 reports, in some cases with addenda, to the Commission on Human Rights since 1987. Since 1994, six reports (some of them with addenda) have been submitted to the General Assembly; the present report is submitted in accordance with General Assembly resolution 55/97 of 4 December 2000. 3. Since the year 2001 marks the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, the Special Rapporteur decided to report on the mandate since its creation, both as regards management and prevention in the area of freedom of religion or belief and as regards cooperation with the Commission on Human Rights, United Nations human rights mechanisms, specialized agencies of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations. A series of conclusions and recommendations were made on the basis of this review. II. Report on management in the area of freedom of religion or belief A. 1. Report on in situ visits and their follow-up In situ visits 4. The Special Rapporteur wishes to recall the importance of in situ visits, which constitute one of the main activities of the mandate. 5. In accordance with the resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights and of the General Assembly, the purpose of in situ visits is as follows: (a) To consider, on the spot, incidents and government measures that are incompatible with the provisions of the 1981 Declaration, and positive experiences and initiatives in the area of freedom of religion or belief; (b) To formulate recommendations aimed not only at the State visited but also at the international community. 6. In October 1987, during the time that Mr. d’Almeida Ribeiro was Special Rapporteur — 1987 to 1993 — in addition to personal visits, the Special Rapporteur made an informal visit to Bulgaria at the initiative of the Bulgarian Government.1 7. Since he took over as Special Rapporteur, Mr. Adelfattah Amor has paid 13 visits — two visits per year on average — to States in Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania (see table 1). 3