E/CN.4/2005/61 page 12 25. Among these 69 communications, 4 were urgent appeals and 65 were letters of allegations. Three urgent appeals and two letters of allegations have been sent jointly with other special procedures, such as the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes the importance of issuing joint communications with other mandates given the fact that, as underlined below under section III, violations of freedom of religion or belief are in most cases coupled with violations of other human rights. 26. The following Governments have sent a reply pursuant to the above communications: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, Eritrea, France, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mexico, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam. The Special Rapporteur expresses her appreciation to those Governments that have provided comprehensive replies to her communications. On the other hand, besides incomplete replies, the Special Rapporteur is concerned about those Governments that have seemingly adopted the usual approach of simply rejecting the allegation, an approach that does not allow a correct assessment of the facts. 27. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned that the Governments of China, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nigeria, the Republic of Moldova, Serbia and Montenegro, the Sudan, and the United Republic of Tanzania did not reply to any of her communications sent during the period under review. 28. Finally, the Special Rapporteur thanks the Governments of Turkey, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Greece, Fiji, China, Pakistan, the United States of America, Eritrea, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh for their replies to communications mentioned in previous reports to the Commission as well as the Governments of Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey and Uzbekistan for the general information they have transmitted with regard to freedom of religion. B. In situ visits 29. In situ visits are an essential part of the Special Rapporteur’s activities. The purpose of these visits is to enable her (a) to consider, on the spot, incidents and government measures that are incompatible with freedom of religion or belief, as well as positive experiences and initiatives in this area; and (b) to formulate recommendations. 30. The decision to seek an invitation to visit a particular country is based on a variety of considerations, inter alia, a thorough analysis of the human rights situation in the country concerned, the likely or expected impact of a visit, and practical factors determining the feasibility of a field mission. Like her predecessor, the Special Rapporteur also wishes to keep a