A/HRC/25/58/Add.1 35. For many Sierra Leoneans, religious commitment and religious tolerance go hand in hand. As a high-ranking Muslim representative put it during a meeting of the United Council of Imams, “religious tolerance is a divine gift bestowed on our nation”. Christian representatives also expressed similar sentiments. Such expressions may serve as an interesting testimony against the widespread assumption that religious tolerance develops best in a religiously dispassionate atmosphere, perhaps even in a climate of general religious scepticism. Concomitantly, it is sometimes assumed that strong religious enthusiasm necessarily breeds narrow-mindedness and often leads to fanaticism. The situation in Sierra Leone, however, demonstrates that there is no inherent contradiction between passionate religious commitment and religious open-mindedness, which in this country are generally appreciated as two sides of one and the same coin. IV. Remaining challenges A. Positive and negative freedom of religion or belief 36. The open atmosphere in Sierra Leone generally provides fertile ground for the enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief as guaranteed, inter alia, in section 24 of the Constitution and article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sierra Leone is a party. Neither the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone nor the Ombudsman and his staff remembered any complaints being submitted within recent years about violations of freedom of religion or belief. Occasional conflicts between local communities, for instance over property issues, remained isolated incidents and never spilled over into the broader religious communities. Members of various non-governmental organizations who work on human rights issues in Sierra Leone confirmed this positive assessment from their own viewpoints. 37. The Special Rapporteur was frequently told that what unites people in Sierra Leone is the belief in one Supreme Being to which everyone owes their existence and bears moral accountability. Religious differences, while obviously remaining relevant for people’s selfunderstanding and practices, appear to be placed on a secondary level when compared with the broadly shared general monotheistic conviction. Traditional African spirituality also seems to be appreciated on the premise that it generally fits into this pattern of worshiping one divine power. While facilitating positive interaction between different religious communities, the assumption that everyone ultimately shares the belief in one God also introduces the risk that people could be urged to participate in religious ceremonies against their will. In other words, while the “positive” freedom of religion or belief can and does flourish in Sierra Leone, this may be less the case with regard to its “negative” corollary, that is, the freedom not to believe, not to pray, not to participate in religious ceremonies and so forth. However, the positive and the negative aspects of freedom of religion or belief closely belong together as complementary manifestations of everyone’s right to freedom in the broad area of religion and belief. 38. One example is the collective performance of prayers and other religious ceremonies in schools. Based on the widely shared expectation that all students will finally benefit from participating in such practices, the possibility of receiving a low-threshold exemption is not generally provided. A representative of a Christian church explained that in schools run by her denomination, all students are expected to attend Christian prayers and devotions, regardless of their diverse religious backgrounds. While not all schools hold public devotions during the school hours, the practice seems to be widespread. From the perspective of freedom of religion or belief, it is important to ensure that such collective manifestations remain voluntary, particularly in schools where children are exposed to the authority of their teachers and possibly also to pressure from their peers. Those not wishing 11