E/CN.4/1993/62 page 117 cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the right not to be arbitrarily arrested and detained. The Special Rapporteur has noted that the rights of persons belonging to religious minorities have been particularly affected in this regard in countries with an official or clearly predominant majority religion. 76. Acts of religious intolerance and discrimination have continued to be characterized in many instances by violence or the threat of its use. In most cases, they have encompassed the prohibition and repression of external manifestations relating to a particular religion. On the other hand, there have also been instances of the admission only of external manifestations of one’s faith as is the case with Buddhists in Tibet, who are allowed to show their religious faith externally through prostration, the flying of prayer flags and spinning of prayer wheels, but whose monastic life has been curbed to a large extent. Confrontations between followers of different faiths have continued, as have physical and mental persecution. Repressive measures have continued to be applied for belonging to a specific faith such as extrajudicial killings, arbitrary imprisonment, enforced disappearance and abduction. Persons who have converted to another, especially minority, religion are still severely punished in some countries. The Special Rapporteur has found, however, that the motivations for such behaviour have on occasion been of an economic nature. In others, mandatory religious instruction has been given to persons not belonging to the faith being taught. 77. The Special Rapporteur has also noted a continuation in the application of administrative sanctions against members of certain faiths such as confiscation of property, denial of access to education and employment, exclusion from public service and the denial of salaries and pensions. Certain legal guarantees such as the right to a fair trial in conformity with international standards and the right of legal recourse have also continued to be denied in a number of countries. Members of clergy belonging to various denominations have continued to receive death threats and have been subjected to intimidation directed against them as a result of the community work performed in parallel with their religious functions. 78. This year again, the Special Rapporteur has been preoccupied by the reports of acts of religious intolerance and discrimination by groups of private individuals during which little or no intervention on the part of the security forces took place. He was also alarmed by allegations that the armed forces or members of the security apparatus actually participated in such activities in a number of cases. The Special Rapporteur has once again noted how difficult it is to curb or eradicate the propagation of extremist and fanatical opinions and overcome the distrust opposing members of certain denominations. Although the phenomena of religious discrimination and intolerance are often caused by a variety of economic, social, political or cultural factors deriving from complex historical processes, they are frequently the result of sectarian or dogmatic intransigence. In view of their adverse effect on the stability of international relations, the Special Rapporteur is of the opinion that States should be vigilant in this regard and make determined efforts to combat religious discrimination and intolerance at all levels.