A/54/386 reportedly driven from their village by members of a tribe of the Harris faith. 55. Djibouti. The religious activities of non-Christians are reportedly confined to the private sphere by reason of the ban on public preaching, particularly among Muslims. The legislation guaranteeing the same rights to women and to men is said to be affected by religious traditions attributed to Islam. Authorization by a man is reportedly necessary for a woman wishing to travel abroad. 56. The Government of Djibouti rejected these allegations, stating that it is known as one of the most, if not the most, tolerant of all the Islamic States. It emphasized that a number of important sites in the capital are non-Muslim religious buildings in which believers can practise their faith freely. Djibouti, it said, is characterized by the practice of tolerance and religious freedom. 57. United Arab Emirates. Christians are reportedly unable to undertake religious activities among Muslims. 58. Finland. The duration of the alternative service for conscientious objectors reportedly gives the appearance of being punitive. The Government of Finland submitted a very detailed reply recalling inter alia that conscientious objection was legally recognized in 1931 and that requests for conscientious objector status are approved without any inquiry. As to the amendments to the Military Service Act (in 1998) and the Civilian Service Act (in 1999) and following the reductions in the duration of certain forms of military service, the Government explained that Parliament had decided to maintain the duration of nonmilitary service. The duration of that civilian service had been discussed in Finland. “Military service has been estimated to be more straining both physically and psychologically, the actual daily/weekly time of duty is longer, there are fewer financial benefits and freedom of movement and other aspects of personal freedom are more restricted. Furthermore, persons who complete military service are under obligation to do refresher training later. There is no equivalent to this for persons performing civilian service. Due to the different nature of the types of service, comparing is difficult. Finland will follow closely the functioning of the current system.” The Finnish Government also took the initiative of addressing its position with regard to the application of the 1981 Declaration in the area of education. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the Government for its detailed, closely argued and balanced response and for the extremely useful information relating to education. 59. Gabon. Notwithstanding a satisfactory situation in the area of freedom of religion and belief, the community of Jehovah’s Witnesses is reportedly subject to a government ban which, though not applied de facto, is formally maintained, weakening the community in the long term. Where women are concerned, some legislation, influenced by traditional beliefs, is said to be discriminatory, in particular the requirement for a woman wishing to travel abroad to obtain her husband’s permission. 60. Georgia. The 1997 Alternative Service Act was apparently never applied or accompanied by the mechanisms required for its implementation. The duration of the service established by law was punitive in character. It was reported that the procedure for the restitution of religious property confiscated during the Soviet era continued to be fraught with serious difficulties. The Armenian and Catholic churches were isolated. It was reported that a famous Armenian church in Tbilisi is still closed. Despite a court decision calling for the restitution of a synagogue to the Jewish community, the building was allegedly still being used as a theatre by the occupants. Under pressure from the Georgian Orthodox Church, the authorities were making it difficult to secure a permit to build places of worship for the Protestant and Armenian orthodox communities. 61. The Government of Georgia replied that its Constitution and Penal Code guaranteed freedom of religion and belief and the Government had taken positive measures in the area of human rights. It explained, for instance, that no cases of torture or arbitrary arrest had been reported and that the authorities were doing their best to guarantee the right to manifest one’s religion and belief (meetings and places of worship). It pointed out that the educational system provided an understanding of tolerance and respect for freedom of religion and belief, specifically through the study of human rights, debates and symposia. It acknowledged that there had been incidents in some parts of the country but they had been cleared up. With regard to the restitution of a synagogue, the Government explained that the occupants were demanding to be paid for their repair work, alleging that it was a study centre, that the building had been rented to a theatre company and not to the State and that the two existing Tbilisi synagogues were sufficient to accommodate the religious rites of the Jewish community. It stated, with regard to the Catholic and Armenian churches, that they had not claimed restitution of their property in a court of law. It pointed out that they had no claims against the Orthodox Church and that there was nothing to impede fulfilment of their request to build new churches provided it was in keeping with the 9