E/CN.4/1992/52 page 166 138. In its answer to the questionnaire, the Government of the Ukrainian SSR indicated that "objection to military service on religious grounds is prohibited" and that "nobody may use his religious convictions as a reason for refusing to fulfil his legal obligations". The Government of Cyprus stated that conscientious objectors were considered to be deserters and faced prosecution. The Governments of Albania, Ecuador, Haiti, Tunisia, Turkey and Zimbabwe reported that no cases of conscientious objection have occurred in those counties. The Governments of a number of countries where conscientious objection to military service is not admitted stated that the performance of military service was an honour for all citizens and a sacred obligation. 139. In the course of carrying out his mandate, the Special Rapporteur has dealt with few cases of conscientious objection. These concerned ministers of the Jehovah's Witnesses faith for whom the non-performance of military service is an inherent part of their creed, as well as persons who encountered serious difficulties when their right to conscientious objection was not recognized. The criteria which the Special Rapporteur has applied in these cases are explained in the conclusions of the present report. (f) Clashes between members of different religious denominations 140. The majority of Governments that responded to the questionnaire reported no serious confrontations between believers of different faiths. A number of them stated that such incidents had never occurred on their soil. Some stated that any disputes were limited to verbal exchanges which did not warrant the intervention of the authorities. A few described such clashes as infrequent, insignificant, not a serious problem, or as not constituting regular practice. A number of Governments explained that the absence of conflict between different religious communities was a consequence of the religious homogeneity of the population and of tolerance towards the practices of other religious communities. The majority attributed the absence of such clashes to the prevailing freedom of religion and mutual respect among religious groups. A number of Governments stated that the absence of confrontation had not made it necessary to formulate legal provisions that would regulate such incidents. Several indicated that the existing laws were adequate to ensure the undisturbed practice of religion and minimized the likelihood of any violence resulting therefrom. The comprehensive freedom of religion is always cited as a precondition for the maintenance of peaceful relations among religious communities. 141. A number of Governments provided descriptions of interdenominational conflicts which had arisen in the past as a consequence of specific historical situations and explained the legislation adopted to regulate them in this regard. 142. In its reply to the questionnaire, the Government of Yugoslavia stated that the country's historical background had made it the scene of convergence of Eastern and Western Christianity and Islam. Religious tensions and strife are said to have always existed, with varying degrees of frequency and intensity, among individual religious groups which have been widely identified with specific nations. The Government has indicated that smaller religious communities are said to not have been involved in these disputes. The Government of Switzerland indicated in its answer that clashes had occurred