A/HRC/7/10/Add.1 page 57 Sri Lanka Communication sent on 1 May 2007 241. The Special Rapporteur brought to the attention of the Government information she had received concerning members of the All Ceylon Thareekathul Mufliheen society in Sri Lanka. According to the allegations received, the religious leader of the All Ceylon Thareekathul Mufliheen society, a religious movement based on Islam but rejected by mainstream Muslims in Sri Lanka, died on 6 December 2006. His body was exhumed and burned by a mob under the pretext that members of the All Ceylon Thareekathul Mufliheen society were not permitted to bury their dead in Kathankudy soil. During the subsequent riots, the minaret and part of the meditation centre were destroyed and over 117 houses of members of the All Ceylon Thareekathul Mufliheen society were burned down. Furthermore, their lives were threatened and many of them left Kathankudy. 242. On 7 February 2007, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka informed the General Secretary of All Ceylon Thareekathul Mufliheen that the Commission cannot interfere in the disputes between various sects of a religion and advised to refer these disputes to the Council of Ulemas – All Ceylon Jameeathul Ulama or the Minister of Religious Affairs. Observations 243. The Special Rapporteur regrets that she has not received a reply from the Government concerning the above mentioned allegation. She would like to emphasize that the human rights obligations of States also consist in ensuring the free exercise of freedom of religion or belief and bringing the perpetrators of acts of religious intolerance, discrimination or violence to justice. Already in the report on her country visit to Sri Lanka (see E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.3, para. 100), the Special Rapporteur had referred to another incident targeting the All Ceylon Tharikathul Mufliheen society: In October 2004, their place of worship in Kathankudy and the residences or properties of some of their members were allegedly attacked by a mob of approximately 500 people lead by Muslim organizations. The properties were either destroyed or set on fire and several members of the society were injured. While the police arrested eight alleged perpetrators, these were later released on bail and some mainstream Muslim organizations continued to threaten the members of the society to force them to abandon their belief. As the police reportedly failed to provide protection to the victims of these attacks, they had to flee and find refuge in Colombo. Since then, they have not been able to return to their properties because of continued threats and the absence of appropriate measures by the authorities. 244. In the country report the Special Rapporteur concluded (see E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.3, paras. 113-114) that “the Government of Sri Lanka has to fulfill its positive obligation to protect the right to freedom of religion or belief of all its citizens, irrespective of the religious community to which they belong. These positive obligations include, first and foremost, the prompt investigation of any act of religious violence or intolerance, the prosecution of all perpetrators and the awarding of compensation to the victims of these violations. The Special Rapporteur considers that in most of the cases that have been brought to her attention and despite the information provided by the Permanent Mission, these obligations have not been satisfactorily fulfilled by the Government. Moreover, the implementation of these obligations should constitute an essential priority in guaranteeing the enjoyment of the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief of all Sri Lankan citizens and a prerequisite for maintaining the high level of