A/HRC/16/53/Add.1 following gives a preliminary overview of the Special Rapporteur’s main human rights concerns with regard to the draft Regulations. 236. Vague terms such as “religious unity” or “disagreement” (article 2 of the draft Regulations) makes the interpretation of the draft Regulations prone to abuse which may be detrimental for members of religious minorities and dissenting believers. In the 2006 country report on the Maldives, the previous mandate-holder noted that “the concept of national unity appears to have become inextricably linked to the concept of religious unity, and even religious homogeny, in the minds of the population. She notes that religion has been used as a tool to discredit political opponents and that political opponents have publicly accused each other of being either Christians or Islamic extremists, both of which have proved to be damaging accusations in a country in which religious unity is so highly regarded.” (A/HRC/4/21/Add.3, para. 56). 237. Similarly dangerous is the vague wording and possible interpretation of article 12 of the draft Regulations which envisages “revoking or temporary suspension of licenses” for violating the regulations and which enables stopping “any persons whose actions are deemed to be threatening religious unity”. 238. Among the criteria for giving preaching licenses according to article 16 (b) of the draft Regulations is the requirement that “the person must belong to any sect of the Sunni Muslims”, which in a discriminatory manner would exclude members of any other Muslim denomination, e.g. Shi’as. In addition, article 19 of the draft Regulations stipulates that “foreign preachers who are given permission under this regulations should shape their sermons in reference to the Maldives culture and traditions”, which again is an ambiguous wording. 239. Article 21 of the draft Regulations would impose “an obligation on the Government and all the people of Maldives to protect the religious unity of Maldivian citizens as Maldives is a 100 percent Muslim nation and because Islam maintains harmony of Maldivian citizens and because Islam is the basis of the unity of Maldivian citizens”. The Special Rapporteur would like to emphasize that restricting citizenship to people with certain religious beliefs is contrary to the principle of non-discrimination (A/63/161, paras. 39 and 70). The Special Rapporteur has also encouraged the Maldivian legislators to consider introducing amendments to the citizenship law to bring it into compliance with treaty obligations, particularly with regard to non-discrimination provisions (A/HRC/4/21/Add.3, para. 67). 240. Article 24 of the draft Regulations would give the authority to deport anyone who propagates any religion other than (Sunni) Islam. This provision would unduly restrict the “freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching” according to article 18 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In addition, this provision contravenes article 27 of the Covenant since the draft Regulations would deny persons belonging to religious minorities “the right, in community with the other members of their group, […] to profess and practise their own religion”. 241. The prohibited activities, enumerated in articles 27 to 37 of the draft Regulations, may also seriously hamper the manifestation of freedom of religion or belief and stifle any related debate. Article 27 of the draft Regulations would prohibit, for example, “promoting one’s own individual opinion on issues that are in disagreement among Islamic scholars”, “inciting people to disputes” and “talking about religions other than Islam in Maldives”. Similarly, it would be prohibited to build places of worship of other religions (article 30), to commit any action that may offend Islamic thought (article 32), for Non-Muslims to express their religious beliefs or carry out their religious activities (article 33) and to propagate any religion other than Islam (article 34). 47