A/HRC/13/40/Add.3 I. Freedom of religion or belief in Central Serbia and Vojvodina A. Introduction 1. On the invitation of the Government, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief carried out a mission to Serbia. The Special Rapporteur visited the municipalities of Belgrade, Novi Sad, Subotica, Novi Pazar and Vrnjačka Banja from 30 April to 5 May 2009, 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 welcomes the fact that the Government of Serbia has extended, since October 2005, an open invitation to all thematic special procedures mandate holders. She is also grateful for the good cooperation during her visit in April/May 2009. In Belgrade, the Special Rapporteur had the opportunity to meet with several Government officials, including the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Internal Affairs, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Religious Affairs, the Minister for Human and Minority Rights and the Minister for Education. She also held talks with the Chairperson of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the President of the Supreme Court and the Ombudsman for Human Rights. 3. In addition, the Special Rapporteur was able to collect first-hand information and documents on the status of freedom of religion or belief in central Serbia and Vojvodina. During her visit, the Special Rapporteur spoke with representatives of various religious or belief communities, including from the Baptist Church, the Evangelical Christian Church, the Hare Krishna community, the Islamic community in Serbia, the Islamic community of Serbia, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Jewish community, the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, the Pentecostal Church, the Reformed Christian Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and the Slovak Evangelical Church. In addition, civil society meetings were held with academics, journalists, human rights defenders and lawyers. 4. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the religious representatives and other interlocutors for the information and opinions they shared with her. She is also very grateful for the excellent logistical support provided in Belgrade by the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator. B. International human rights standards 5. The right to freedom of religion or belief is enshrined in various international human rights instruments.2 These include articles 2, 18-20 and 26-27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; article 5 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; articles 2, 14 and 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and article 12 of the International Convention on the Protection of the 2 4 See E/CN.4/2005/61, paras. 15-20 and E/CN.4/2006/5, annex.