E/CN.4/1989/44 page 55 IV. ANALYSIS OF THE INFORMATION COLLECTED 94. The previous chapter demonstrates the existence in some countries of legislative provisions guaranteeing the freedom of thought, conscience, reliqion and belief and penalizing infringements of this freedom, as well as of specific measures to promote respect for tolerance and to prohibit discrimination in this regard. The Special Rapporteur also had occasion to observe in certain European countries, as had already been the case when he prepared the earlier report (E/CN.4/1988/45, para. 38), the positive impact of the policy of openness and transparency in the sphere of religious freedom and manifestations of worship. Among the encouraging signs, the Special Rapporteur particularly noted the publication and import of large numbers of Bibles to the Soviet Union on the occasion of the celebration of the millenary of the introduction of Christianity into Russia, the early release or reduced sentences granted to a number of believers detained in that country, and preparatory work for new legislation on freedom of conscience and the revision of some provisions of the Criminal Code. 95. Although the Special Rapporteur welcomes these trends, he nevertheless considers that these positive signs should not draw a veil over the many infringements of the riqhts set out in the Declaration, of which he endeavoured to compile a kind of general inventory in his first report (E/CN.4/1987/35, paras. 46-71) and which, unfortunately, seem undeniably to have persisted in most regions of the world during the period covered by the present report. 96. As regards, for example, the right to have, to manifest and to practise the religion or belief of one's choice (Declaration, arts. 1 and 6), a number of allegations have recently been reported, including restrictions on the right to manifest one's religion in public and sometimes even in private; sanctions for belonging to a specific denomination; refusal to register certain religious communities; refusal to recognize the right to conscientious objection; the destruction, enforced closure, evacuation or arbitrary occupation of places of worship or assembly for a religion or belief; prohibition on opening new places of worship or assembly; refusal to grant permits to build new places of worship or assembly, or to repair existing premises; restriction of certain activities of a cultural or parish nature relating to a religion or belief; seizure or confiscation of religious property or articles of worship; prohibition on importing, possessing, exhibiting or distributing certain articles of worship; prohibition on publishing, importing or distributing publications relating to a religion or belief; restriction or prohibition of reliqious propaganda or propaganda concerning a belief; censorship of reliqious publications, sermons or addresses; denial of the right to practise the ceremonies of a particular form of worship; restriction of such ceremonies to specified places; use for secular purposes of places considered to be sacred for certain religions or beliefs; profamation of burial places; restrictions on the right to set up seminaries to train clergy and on the possibilities for seminarists to receive adequate instruction; and restrictions on the right to appoint sufficient numbers of clerqy.