A/56/253 the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United States and Viet Nam to reply as soon as possible to the follow-up procedure. 21. B. The Special Rapporteur intends to make follow-up visits as soon as possible. Report on communications sent by the Special Rapporteur and replies received from States since the establishment of the mandate (1988-2001) 22. In reporting on his work since the establishment of the mandate, the Special Rapporteur considers it useful to include in this interim report a summary of the communications and replies received from States since the last session of the Commission on Human Rights. 1. Report on communications sent by the Special Rapporteur and replies received from States since the publication of the report submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-seventh session 23. This report covers a total of 49 communications (including two urgent appeals to Afghanistan) sent to 24 States: Afghanistan (3), China, Cuba, Egypt (3), Georgia (4), India (3), Indonesia (4), Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal (2), Nigeria (2), Pakistan (4), Republic of Korea, Saint-Lucia, Sri Lanka, Sudan (2), Turkey, Turkmenistan (3), United Arab Emirates, Ukraine (2), Viet Nam (5). 24. The report also covers the replies received from five States to allegations contained herein. Late replies were received from 16 States, and two States sent additional information relating to communications sent in the context of the report to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-seventh session, in 2001. Afghanistan 25. On 8 January 2000, Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid, supreme chief of the Taliban, issued a decree establishing the death penalty for any Muslim who converts to another religion and a five-year prison term for anyone possessing “anti-Islamic” literature. 26. The Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations in Geneva confirmed this report and issued the following statement: “The fanaticism shown by the Taliban has extremely serious and dramatic consequences on the daily lives of the Afghan people: the pursuit of war, destruction of villages, arbitrary mass executions of civilians, forced displacement of populations, kidnapping and rape of women, food blockades, mass arrests of innocent civilians, torture, etc. We have said over and over again that the ideology and practice of the Taliban are not only foreign to Islam, but anti-Islamic as well”. 27. On 26 February 2001, a second decree was issued ordering the destruction of all non-Islamic statues and monuments. In an urgent appeal to the Taliban representative, Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid, the Special Rapporteur asked for a halt to the destruction of monuments and irreplaceable relics — including the Buddhist statues of Bamayan — which reflected the religious diversity of 8