A/HRC/10/8/Add.4 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir, carried out a mission to Turkmenistan from 4 to 10 September 2008, at the invitation of the Government. The visit was undertaken pursuant to her mandate 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. 2. The Special Rapporteur is grateful for the good cooperation extended to her by the Government of Turkmenistan. In Ashgabat, she met with the President of Turkmenistan; the Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Minister of Justice; the Minister of Education; the Minister of Culture, TV and Radio Broadcasting; the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs; the Deputy Minister of Defence; the Deputy Minister of National Security; and the Head of the Main State Tax Service. The Special Rapporteur also had meetings with the Chairperson of the Parliament; the Chairperson of the Supreme Court; the General Prosecutor; the Deputy Chairpersons of the Presidential Council on Religious Affairs; and the Director of the National Institute on Democracy and Human Rights. In addition, the Special Rapporteur held consultations with representatives of regional and local authorities. These included the mayor of the Dashoguz region, the mayor of the city of Dashoguz, the mayor of the Balkanabat region, the mayor of the city of Turkmenbashy, as well as regional and local representatives of the Council on Religious Affairs. 3. In addition, the Special Rapporteur was able to collect first hand information and materials on the state of freedom of religion or belief in the country, inter alia, by meeting members of various religious communities, both registered and unregistered. The interlocutors included religious leaders and members of Sunnite Islam, the Russian Orthodox Church, Shi’a Islam, the Baha’i community, the Hare Krishna community, the Roman Catholic Church and several Protestant Churches, including the Jehovah’s Witnesses. She also met with representatives of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and foreign Embassies in Turkmenistan. She wishes to thank religious representatives and other interlocutors for the information and opinions they shared with her. 4. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the authorities for their invitation and cooperation. Her visit to Turkmenistan was the first official mission carried out by a special procedures mandate-holder and she hopes that other special procedures mandate-holders will follow. The Special Rapporteur also wishes to express her appreciation to the United Nations Office in Turkmenistan for its outstanding logistical support provided before, during and after the mission. II. POLITICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 5. Turkmenistan was part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for 67 years before proclaiming its independence on 27 October 1991. The Special Rapporteur was reminded time and again by her interlocutors that Turkmenistan had been spared from open inter-ethnic or inter-religious conflict despite being at the heart of a highly volatile region.