A/HRC/10/8/Add.4 page 13 C. The Council on Religious Affairs 33. According to article 7 of the Religious Organizations Law, the Presidential Council on Religious Affairs is mandated to, inter alia, exercise control over the activities of religious organizations regarding the observance of the Religious Organizations Law; represent, in State authorities, the interests of religious organizations located and operating in Turkmenistan; consider citizen’s appeals, letters and complaints related to the activities of religious organizations and take measures on eliminating the revealed shortcomings and violations; and to promote mutual understanding and tolerance among religious organizations practicing various beliefs and operating within and outside Turkmenistan. As mentioned above, the mandate of the Council on Religious Affairs also includes participation in the registration process. It reviews applications before submitting them with a recommendation to the Ministry of Justice. 34. Although the mandate defined above is quite broad, the Council on Religious Affairs seems to have mainly focused on its monitoring role vis-à-vis religious or belief communities. Thus, religious organizations have reported that the Council on Religious Affairs has acted as an arm of the authorities in order to closely control their activities, rather than representing their interests in state authorities, addressing their grievances or promoting mutual understanding and tolerance among them. 35. The Council on Religious Affairs is composed of Sunni Muslims and Russian Orthodox Christians; no other religious minorities are represented therein. Likewise, the Council on Religious Affairs exclusively appoints Sunni Muslim Imams to represent it at the regional level, therefore leaving religious minorities out of the regional and local governmental structures. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that an inclusive body would inspire the confidence of all religious communities in Turkmenistan. It is indeed inappropriate to give a governmental body which only includes Sunni Muslims and Russian Orthodox Christians the powers to decide on the registration of other religious groups. D. Places of worship 36. Prior to her visit, the Special Rapporteur had received information on difficulties faced both by registered and unregistered religious organizations with regard to the building, opening, renting and use of places of worship. Allegedly, raids by officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and of the Ministry of National Security8 have occurred in order to prevent public and private religious gatherings. Furthermore, places of worship of diverse religious communities have been confiscated or even destroyed and the building and renting of places of worship have also been obstructed by the authorities. 8 While there were also reports about the involvement of the Main State Tax Service in these raids, the Special Rapporteur has received assurances by the Government that it was not the case.