E/CN.4/1999/58 page 10 existence of a general situation that is positive, or cases which reflect a general situation of intolerance and discrimination and (ii) certain situations may affect freedom of religion and belief in general, various aspects of those freedoms, or certain communities based on religion or belief. (d) The communications do not cover all religions and all beliefs, and the frequency with which religions and beliefs are the subject of communications does not reflect their general situation in the world. (e) The communications fail to bring out positive experiences of unquestionable value, such as Spain's initiative with regard to religious minorities or that of Egypt in combating religious extremism. A. Summary of communications sent and replies received 24. Since the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur has sent 63 communications (including four urgent appeals to Iran and the Sudan) to the following 46 States: Afghanistan (3), Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Buthan, China (2), Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt (3), Eritrea, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India (3), Indonesia (2), Iran (5), Iraq, Kazakhstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan (3), Turkmenistan (2), Turkey (2), Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uzbekistan and Yemen. 25. The following 22 States have responded to these 63 communications sent to 46 States, for which the deadline for reply has expired: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Buthan, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Greece, Indonesia, Iran (2), Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan 26. All three communications concern the Taliban’s policy of intolerance and discrimination in the name of religion, which affects Afghan society as a whole and women and Shiite Muslims in particular. Two communications reveal that the Taliban has introduced what is in point of fact a system of apartheid in respect of women, based on its interpretation of Islam: exclusion of women from society, employment and schools, obligation for women to wear the burqa in public and restrictions on travel with men other than members of the family. A third communication concerns violations committed by the Taliban when they captured Mazar-i-Sharif on 8 August 1998, namely, killings of thousands of civilians, including at least 70 men executed on Abduli Ali Mazari’s tomb according to the halal ceremony, used for the slaughter of animals; assassinations of Iranian diplomats, sometimes because of their affiliation with Shi’ism; abduction and forced marriage of young women to Talibans; and adoption of the Sunnite faith on pain of execution. The Special Rapporteur believes that the maintenance, openly and publicly, of an apartheid policy of this nature is abnormal, from the standpoint of human rights.