A/64/159 57. In the context of her mandate to identify existing and emerging obstacles to the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief, the Special Rapporteur contributed to a joint statement with seven other special procedures mandateholders 29 at the OHCHR seminar on the prevention of genocide, held in Geneva on 21 January 2009. Reflecting on effective strategies to prevent genocide and other mass atrocities, the eight special procedures mandate-holders reaffirmed that due to their independence, field activities and access to Governments and civil society, they constituted a useful instrument to collate and analyse in-depth information on serious, massive and systematic violations of human rights. They can also provide recommendations to the concerned Governments and the international community on the steps to be taken to defuse tensions at an early stage. Through their reporting to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, the special procedures endeavour to contribute to a better understanding of and early warning on complex situations. While not all situations of tension and polarization along ethnic, racial, religious or national lines lead to genocide, it is nonetheless essential that early warning signs be constantly monitored so that timely responses can be devised. 58. Finally, the Special Rapporteur would like to briefly refer to the discussion of freedom of religion or belief in the ongoing universal periodic review process. During the five sessions of the universal periodic review which have been completed at the time of writing, covering so far 80 countries of the 192 Member States of the United Nations, religious issues were discussed during the review for 60 countries. This fact illustrates that matters of freedom of religion or belief are problematic in a large number of countries in different regions of the world and that the international community is actively engaged in pursuing these issues. The Special Rapporteur would like to emphasize that the universal periodic review provides a good opportunity to follow up on communications and country visits of mandate-holders and she intends to refer to the recommendations with regard to freedom of religion or belief contained in the reports of the universal periodic review. D. Application of a gender perspective 59. In its resolution 6/37, the Human Rights Council invited the Special Rapporteur to continue to apply a gender perspective, inter alia, through the identification of gender-specific abuses, in the reporting process, including in information collection and in recommendations. Since 1996, relevant resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council have also condemned acts motivated by religious intolerance in all its forms, including practices which violate the human rights of women and discriminate against women. 60. In the framework of the mandate and on the basis of the activities carried out since her appointment in July 2004, the Special Rapporteur has highlighted that many women suffer from aggravated discrimination, due to their religious, ethnic and sexual identities. Citizenship laws in a number of countries discriminate against women and their children because these regulations stipulate that mothers have fewer rights than fathers to transmit nationality. Discrimination and practices that are harmful to the health of women and girls are also applied within their religious __________________ 29 09-40869 See www2.ohchr.org/english/events/RuleofLaw/docs/SProceduresJointStatement.pdf; and A/HRC/10/25, paras. 44-51. 19