A/HRC/13/40/Add.4 48. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur would like to refer to article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which requires each State party to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the Covenant without distinction of any kind, including religion. Article 12 of the Covenant guarantees everyone lawfully within the territory of a State party the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence within that territory. In addition, everyone is free to leave any country, including his or her own. While these rights may be subject to restrictions which are provided by law and are necessary to protect, for example, national security, such restrictions must also be consistent with the other rights recognized in the Covenant. 49. Consequently, the right to freedom of religion or belief and the prohibition of discrimination may be decisive in the evaluation of whether a restriction on the liberty of movement is permissible or not. The Special Rapporteur would like to emphasize that it is contrary to international human rights standards to place unreasonable restrictions on the movements of religious leaders and individual believers in the exercise of their freedom of religion or belief. E. Freedom of religion or belief of persons deprived of their liberty 50. During the past 12 years, the Special Rapporteur has received allegations that members of religious minorities were arrested and detained in the context of their religious activities.16 Reportedly, they were convicted for creating divisions, for alleged proselytizing activities without official authorization, for having converted to Christianity or for refusing to renounce their faith. The Special Rapporteur is concerned about the alleged discriminatory implementation of domestic laws, the denial of due process and the bias by law enforcement organs against religious minorities. In addition, there were reports that Christian detainees had been shackled in wooden stocks, denied food and consigned to solitary confinement when prison guards saw any religious activities. 51. As indicated above (see paragraph 3), during the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Samkhe prison on 25 November 2009, the prison authorities unfortunately refused to allow her to speak in private and freely with the detainees. One of the reasons for the Special Rapporteur’s practice of visiting prisons during her country missions is to examine whether all detainees are given full opportunity to worship, if they so wish, and to ensure that their religious needs are respected. The terms of reference for fact-finding missions by Special Rapporteurs and Special Representatives explicitly provide mandate holders with full freedom of inquiry, including confidential and unsupervised contact with persons deprived of their liberty (E/CN.4/1998/45, appendix V). 52. The religious rights of persons deprived of their liberty must be fully respected and protected.17 The Special Rapporteur would like to emphasize that persons deprived of their liberty often require spiritual support and find themselves in a particularly vulnerable situation. There is a real risk that the circumstances of detention, as well as specific policies by prison authorities, may result in undue restrictions of the opportunity of detainees to practise their religion or belief in private or in public. The Human Rights Committee in its 16 17 16 See summaries of the Special Rapporteur’s allegation letters and the replies of the Government in E/CN.4/1997/91, paras. 24 and 34; E/CN.4/1999/58, paras. 86–88; E/CN.4/2000/65, para. 88; E/CN.4/2002/73, para. 103; A/57/274, para. 60; A/58/296, para. 86; E/CN.4/2004/63, paras. 80–81; A/59/366, paras. 51–52; and A/HRC/10/8/Add.1, paras. 129–134. See A/60/399, paras. 69–91. GE.10-10542