A/65/207 49. One early warning sign with regard to State actors is the lack of adequate legislation ensuring freedom of religion or belief in all its dimensions. A second early warning sign is a lack of accountability for crimes and patterns of impunity following a human rights violation targeting members of a specific religious or belief community. In addition, the existence of significant patterns of religious discrimination in State practices and policies needs to be watched and addressed. Similarly, the persistent negative stereotyping in public speeches by elected or other officials targeting members of specific religious or belief communities is a matter which can aggravate latent tendencies to discriminate. 50. Violent attacks by non-State actors on persons based on their religious affiliation, or violence perpetrated in the name of religion or belief are further indicators that warrant State intervention. The degree and persistence of religious tensions at the societal level should be watched closely. The spreading of messages of religious hatred by religious leaders and opinion-makers in the mass media or by individuals in blogs and online discussion sites should give rise to measures to enhance tolerance through a number of initiatives, including dialogue and support to alternative voices. 51. In addition, there are a number of external factors that might hamper the enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief in a given society. Such external factors could be related to upcoming elections, hate campaigning on religious lines and divisive vote-bank politics. Tensions that subsist over a long period of time may be another early warning sign, in particular if they are linked to past conflicts over places of worship, land, power or religious identity. Furthermore, natural disasters and the arrival of foreign missionaries may trigger demands from some religious groups to curb so-called “unethical conversions”, as was the case in certain States following the tsunami of December 2004 in the Indian Ocean. 45 52. The Special Rapporteur would like to emphasize that States should not necessarily respond to such early warning signs by legislating or even criminalizing certain actions. Rather, States should draw on a toolkit of various preventive measures and initiatives, which could include, for example, encouraging interreligious and intrareligious dialogue, providing support to alternative voices within communities and offering quality education in order to build more tolerant and equal societies. Members of religious minorities need to be able to have their voices heard by being given adequate access to State authorities and decision makers. In this context, the executive power, the administration and political leaders should develop human rights-based policies and communication strategies. III. Activities of the mandate 53. The Special Rapporteur wishes to provide a brief overview of her activities with regard to: (a) communications sent to States concerning individual cases; (b) the Special Rapporteur’s country visits; and (c) other activities undertaken by the mandate holder. __________________ 45 10-47047 See the Special Rapporteur’s report on her mission to Sri Lanka (E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.3, paras. 32-78) and her thematic report to the General Assembly (A/60/399, paras. 55-68). 17