A/HRC/4/21 page 5 A. Communications 7. The amount of information received from both individuals and NGOs on situations that appear to fall within the scope of the mandate is overwhelming and deals with a wide range of complex and sensitive issues. One of the crucial activities undertaken by the Special Rapporteur in this regard is to engage in constructive dialogue with Governments by sending them communications in order to seek clarification on credible allegations received. It is self-evident that these communications do not cover all the incidents and governmental action in the world that raise concern with regard to freedom of religion or belief. Furthermore, the frequency with which religions and beliefs are covered by communications does not necessarily reflect their general situation in the world. 8. During the period from 1 December 2005 to 30 November 2006, a total of 64 communications were transmitted to 34 different countries. The Special Rapporteur sent communications to Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, China (People’s Republic of), Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, France, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro,1 Somalia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, the United States of America, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam. 9. Of the 64 communications, 42 were sent to the Asian and Pacific region, 8 to Europe and North America, 7 to the Arab region, 6 to Africa and 1 to Latin America and the Caribbean. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur notes that while there is an obvious imbalance between States regarding the amount of information received, the picture does depict positive trends in some regions, which has remained consistently encouraging. The fact that some States are covered in the addendum 1 does not mean that other States are problem-free. Indeed, the absence of information may sometimes be explained by the lack of a civil society or by obstacles that prevent the information from being transmitted outside the country. 10. The communications sent during the period under review were made up of 27 urgent appeals and 37 allegation letters. The Special Rapporteur is pleased that 21 of the urgent appeals and 18 of the allegation letters were sent jointly with other special procedures. The Special Rapporteur welcomes once again this important collaboration, especially in view of the fact that violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief by its very nature are often coupled with violations of other human rights. During the period under review communications were sent jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children; the Independent Expert on minority issues; the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences; the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights