A/60/399 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief originated in Commission on Human Rights resolution 1986/20, to appoint a special rapporteur to examine incidents and governmental actions in all parts of the world inconsistent with the provisions of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, and to recommend remedial measures for such situations. Since then the different Special Rapporteurs have submitted 19 reports to the Commission and 10 reports to the General Assembly, together with a total of 18 addenda. The present report is submitted in accordance with General Assembly resolution 59/1999. 2. The present Special Rapporteur was appointed by the Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights in July 2004. Since then, she has submitted a report to the General Assembly (A/59/366), a report to the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2005/61 and Corr.1) as well as a report on communications sent and replies received from Governments (E/CN.4/2005/61/Add.1). She has undertaken in situ visits to Nigeria (27 February-7 March 2005) and Sri Lanka (2-12 May 2005), the reports on which will be submitted to the Commission at its sixty-second session. She has also participated in the annual meeting of special rapporteurs/representatives, independent experts and chairpersons of working groups of the special procedures of the Commission held in June and had consultations, including in Geneva and London. From 19 to 29 September 2005, she will carry out an in situ visit to France. 3. While next year will be the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, it seems evident that contentious religious issues have not only evolved but also become more acute in many societies. The Special Rapporteur encourages Governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to take advantage of this occasion to organize events that will highlight the importance of promoting freedom of religion or belief and challenge rising trends of religious intolerance. 4. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur focuses on specific aspects of her mandate and methods of work as well as certain substantive issues of concern. II. The mandate A. Terms of reference 5. The Special Rapporteur notes that, like other special procedures, the mandate on freedom of religion or belief is constantly developing. This is reflected, inter alia, in the wording of General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights resolutions year after year. 6. The last resolution of the Commission is particularly noteworthy in this regard. While confirming the main elements of the mandate, resolution 2005/40 also stressed, as part of the strengthening of the Dialogue among Civilizations, the need to address the “rise of religious extremism affecting religions in all parts of the world”, the “situations of violence and discrimination that affect many women as a result of religion or belief” and the “use of religion or belief for ends inconsistent 4