progressive provisions which were in conformity with the Covenant. The requirement for an exit visa had been abolished in the case of diplomats and official delegations, although it had been maintained for individuals. In the future, those restrictions should be abolished. The question of prohibition on the departure of persons i« possession of State secrets was complex, but the situation had, nevertheless, changed considerably. Even though the Soviet law on entry and departure was still in force in Belarus, it was no longer strictly applied and no citizen was actually prevented from leaving Belarus on those grounds. If an exit visa was denied, an appeal could be made to the courts. In that respect, practice had overtaken the legislation being prepared. The new type of passport would indicate only the holder's citizenship but no longer state his nationality. The authorities intended to abolish the residence permit (propiska) towards the middle of 1993. Any person of Russian or other origin living in the Republic had become a Belarusian citizen when the law on citizenship had been adopted. 541. Regarding permissible interference of privacy, the representative pointed out that full information on the topic had been provided in the initial report (CCPE/C/l/Add.27); since then the situation had, in general, changed little. However, some amendments had been made to the Code of Criminal Procedure in order better to guarantee the right to privacy. There were criminal penalties for breaches of the provisions protecting privacy, in particular in articles 124, 135 and 136 of the Penal Code. 542. Regarding freedom of conscience, the representative said that a bill on freedom of conscience was currently being considered by the competent authorities. Virtually all the property confiscated from the Church had been returned to it. The Supreme Soviet had recently issued a decree declaring the principal Catholic and Orthodox festivals to be public holidays. The right to seek, receive and impart information was virtually unrestricted in Belarus, except when matters of national security or professional secrecy were at stake. Foreign publications were on sale freely in Belarus; Radio Liberty. which had previously been considered a subversive radio station, had recently been accredited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Belarusian legislation stipulated that, if a person was the victim of libel or defamation in the media, he could take the matter to the courts and demand rectification of the information as well as the appropriate redress. 543. The representative also said that current legislation made no provision for the right to refuse to perform military service on religious grounds, although practice - as in many other spheres - was ahead of current legislation: those who refused to bear arms were assigned to special units. The new bill on military service made provision for conscripts to refuse to perform military service on religious grounds. Articles 118 and 119 of the Penal Code, relating to immoral behaviour towards minors, were still applicable. A bill on homosexuality was being examined, and if it was adopted criminal penalties would be applied only in respect of acts involving violence against minors or persons in a position of dependence, As to the admission into hospital of people suffering from AIDS, he emphasized that the individuals concerned were people who refused to have a medical examination, although they were suspected of carrying the virus. The Republic did not yet have its own legislation on the matter, which was the reason it applied the laws of the former USSR. -130-