A/62/280 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief was created by the Commission on Human Rights in 1986. In its resolution 1986/20 the Commission decided to appoint a special rapporteur to examine “incidents and governmental actions in all parts of the world which are inconsistent with the provisions of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief” as well as “to recommend remedial measures”. 1 Since 1994, the Special Rapporteur has on a yearly basis been requested to report to the General Assembly, as reiterated most recently in Assembly resolution 61/161. 2. The present mandate holder was appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights in July 2004 and her mandate was extended by Human Rights Council decision 1/102 2 and resolution 5/1. 3 The Special Rapporteur has submitted three interim reports to the General Assembly (A/59/366, A/60/399 and A/61/340) as well as general reports to the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2005/61 and Corr.1 and Add.1-2; E/CN.4/2006/5 and Add.1-4) and to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/4/21 and Add.1-3). In addition, at its first and fourth sessions, the Human Rights Council decided to request two thematic reports from the Special Rapporteur, which she submitted in September 2006 (A/HRC/2/3) and July 2007 (A/HRC/6/5). 3. In her country reports, the Special Rapporteur has discussed the situation with regard to her mandate in Nigeria (E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.2), Sri Lanka (E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.3), France (E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.4), Guantánamo Bay Azerbaijan (A/HRC/4/21/Add.2) and Maldives (E/CN.4/2006/120), 4 (A/HRC/4/21/Add.3). The reports on her recent in situ visits to Tajikistan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be submitted to the Human Rights Council. A total of 68 reports have been submitted to the Commission on Human Rights, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council since 1986. Given the increasing workload and the rising number of reporting obligations, the Special Rapporteur would like to take this opportunity to highly commend the assistance she has been receiving from her assistants at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 4. The present report gives an overview of the activities that have been carried out under the mandate since her last report to the General Assembly. It then discusses the situation of two vulnerable groups and, finally, it sets out a number of conclusions and recommendations. __________________ 1 2 3 4 4 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1986, Supplement No. 2 (E/1986/22), chap. II, sect. A. See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-first Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/61/53), part one, chap. II, sect. B. See A/HRC/5/21, chap. I, sect. A. Situation of detainees at Guantánamo Bay, joint report of the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Leila Zerrougui; the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Leandro Despouy; the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak; the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir; and the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Paul Hunt. 07-48490