A/64/159 Governments concerned and there was always a genuine dialogue aimed at strengthening the capacity of States to comply with their human rights obligations. 40. Since submitting her previous report, 22 the Special Rapporteur has conducted missions to Turkmenistan, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia, including a visit to Kosovo. 23 She provides an overview of the main issues which came up during these missions and indicates details of her forthcoming missions in paragraphs 41-50 below. 1. Mission to Turkmenistan 41. The Special Rapporteur carried out a country visit to Turkmenistan from 4 to 10 September 2008 at the invitation of the Government. In her mission report, 24 the Special Rapporteur referred to the high level of tolerance and the climate of religious harmony which prevailed at the societal level in Turkmenistan. However, she also emphasized that the mandate had received over the past eight years numerous reports of arrests, intimidation, harassment and restrictions on the religious activities of individuals and groups, allegedly perpetrated by the authorities. Although the situation has much improved since 2007, she highlighted that individuals and religious communities, both registered and unregistered, remained under close scrutiny and still faced a number of difficulties when manifesting their freedom of religion or belief. The Special Rapporteur remained concerned about the imposition of legal or policy restrictions by the authorities of Turkmenistan on registration, places of worship, religious material, religious education and proselytism. 42. In her conclusions and recommendations, the Special Rapporteur urged the Government to review the amended law of Turkmenistan on freedom of conscience and religious organizations so that it would no longer infringe on the rights of individuals and groups in their exercise of freedom of religion or belief. In particular, she recommended that the prohibition on unregistered religious activities and undue restrictions regarding religious material, education and attire be removed from the legislation. Similarly, the Government should ensure that religious communities did not encounter obstructions with regard to the building, opening, renting or use of places of worship. On conscientious objection, the Special Rapporteur recommended that the Government offer an alternative civilian service for those who refused to perform military service owing to their religious beliefs. She also urged the Government to initiate reforms in the judiciary, so as to offer effective legal means of redress and compensation for denial of freedom of religion or belief. In addition, she recommended that law enforcement officials and representatives of local authorities be provided with adequate training in order to raise awareness about international human rights standards, including on freedom of religion or belief. 43. In its reply letter of 1 April 2009, the Government of Turkmenistan indicated that it would be taking the Special Rapporteur’s comments into consideration during the country’s further reform process and the preparation of its periodic report to the __________________ 22 23 24 14 A/63/161. All reference in the present report to “Kosovo”, whether to the territory, institutions or population, should be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo. See A/HRC/10/8/Add.4. 09-40869