A/HRC/4/21 page 4 Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to resolution 2005/40 of the Commission on Human Rights and decision 2/102 of the Human Rights Council. It covers the activities carried out under the mandate on freedom of religion or belief since the submission of the previous reports to the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2006/5 and Add.1 to 4). 2. The Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance was initially appointed pursuant to Commission resolution 1986/20. The Commission changed the title to Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief by its resolution 2000/33, which was approved by the Economic and Social Council by its decision 2000/261. In July 2004, Asma Jahangir was appointed Special Rapporteur for a period of three years. 3. The present report is divided into four sections. Section I presents the activities that have been undertaken under the mandate during the period under review. Section II takes stock of the 20 years of mandate practice and announces an online digest of her framework for communications, which is intended to improve the effectiveness of her communications with Governments and non-governmental organizations. Section III provides a more detailed analysis of several issues of concern to the mandate, namely the vulnerable situation of women, violations linked to counter-terrorism measures as well as the situation of religious minorities and new religious movements. Section IV sets out the Special Rapporteur’s conclusions and recommendations. 4. The summary of communications sent by the Special Rapporteur from 1 December 2005 to 30 November 2006 and the replies received from Governments by 30 January 2007 is found in addendum 1 to the report. Addendums 2 and 3 are the reports of the country visits to Azerbaijan and to the Maldives, respectively. I. ACTIVITIES OF THE MANDATE 5. On 25 November 2006, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief was commemorated. However, the Special Rapporteur notes with concern that the standards of this 1981 Declaration are still not universally implemented and that freedom of religion or belief is not a reality for many individuals throughout the world. The reported instances of religious intolerance show that the right to freedom of religion or belief continues to be significantly challenged in many contexts and different parts of the world. 6. The three main pillars of the Special Rapporteur’s activities consist of sending communications, undertaking in situ visits and participating in international conferences. As in previous years, the monitoring of cases and situations of alleged violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief was carried out mainly in the context of acting on information provided by several sources, including individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It should be noted that communications are not per se accusatory, but take up information with the aim of monitoring specific cases and eventually identifying, inter alia, patterns of violations.