E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.2 page 20 their right to freely manifest their religion or belief. In the context of this mandate, reports have often pointed out that perpetrators who enjoy impunity, even for well-intentioned reasons, remain active in keeping religious tensions alive. Impunity therefore only escalates religious intolerance. 96. A long-term effort to promote respect and tolerance, including religious tolerance, among members of the Nigerian society is necessary to gradually erase the tensions and misunderstandings between Muslims and Christians. For that purpose, measures at the Federal level have to be complemented by mechanisms at the local level. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur has been encouraged by grass-roots initiatives which aim at building bridges between communities and help them to understand each other’s concerns. Other local measures aimed at finding solutions to specific disputes through dialogue between communities are also an essential means of opening minds to other forms of conflict resolution that are particularly appropriate in the Nigerian context. 97. The Special Rapporteur further emphasizes that those different kinds of measures should contribute to the establishment of an early warning system, which seems to be imperative in the current situation. 98. The Special Rapporteur considers that reports according to which members of both communities are arming themselves, whether for defensive purposes or for future aggression, constitute a sign that there remains a willingness to provoke or accept more violence. While the authorities have reacted by taking some appropriate actions in this regard, a more comprehensive policy should be adopted to address this particularly worrying development. While in most instances of violence, attacks were carried out with no arms or with objects used as weapons, it is clear that the alleged stocking of proper weapons can only increase the scale of future violence and the number of casualties. Sharia penal codes 99. On the questions related to the application of Sharia to criminal matters, the Special Rapporteur wishes to emphasize that the human rights concerns related to the adoption of penal codes on the basis of religious laws are not a question of religion per se, but of determining the compatibility with human rights of specific regulations and their application in a given legal system, in particular the right to freedom of religion or belief. The purpose of the Special Rapporteur in this respect is neither to make a judgement on nor to analyse or interpret the content of a religion, but to assess the impact of a legal system based on religious laws from a human rights perspective. 100. The Special Rapporteur considers that the legal systems such as have been adopted by a number of states in Nigeria contain provisions that raise concern in terms of human rights. Certain forms of punishment contained in the sharia penal codes, such as amputation or stoning, constitute treatment that is contrary to universally recognized norms prohibiting torture and other degrading, cruel and inhuman treatment or punishment, including international conventions to which Nigeria is a party. Moreover, it was underlined above that certain provisions as well as