A/HRC/10/8/Add.4 page 16 individually or jointly with other people based on their own choice, this same article also more specifically establishes that religious education for children can be provided at mosques, during afterschool hours for no longer than four hours a week, upon approval of the Council on Religious Affairs and of the parents. Furthermore, according to this same article, providing religious education in private is prohibited and shall be subject to liability. Since religious education can only be provided at mosques, it implies that non-Muslim communities are not authorized to have religious classes, either in public or in private. An arbitrary interpretation of the law could prevent parents from imparting religious education to their children in private. This would contravene international human rights standards which guarantee the liberty of parents to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions. 47. The Special Rapporteur expresses concern about the State’s interference in religious affairs of the different belief communities in Turkmenistan. She would like to recall that according to article 6 of the 1981 Declaration, the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief shall include, inter alia, the freedom to train, appoint, elect or designate by succession appropriate leaders called for by the requirements and standards of any religion or belief and the freedom to teach a religion or belief in places suitable for these purposes. She also would like to refer to the Human Rights Committee’s general comment No. 22 (1993), in which it stated that “the practice and teaching of a religion or belief includes acts integral to the conduct by religious groups of their basic affairs, such as the freedom to choose their religious leaders priests and teachers, the freedom to establish seminaries or religious schools and the freedom to prepare and distribute religious texts or publications.” G. Proselytism 48. While both article 11 of the Constitution of Turkmenistan and article 3 of the Religious Organizations Law guarantee the right to express and disseminate views related to religion, the Special Rapporteur noted during her mission that a number of her governmental interlocutors seemed to equate proselytism to a form of coercion on people to convert. In this regard, she received information about one case where members of a religious group were convoked by the authorities in the Ahal region and were told that there had been complaints about their religious activities. Members of this religious group were accused of extending their activities, exerting pressure upon people as well as conducting training and propaganda. The local authorities told them that they did not have the right to express and disseminate beliefs enshrined in the Bible, that they may not share their religious feelings with their families and friends and as members of the democratic society, they had to read the Bible alone. The Special Rapporteur was also informed of other cases including believers being harassed because of them distributing religious material in the streets. 49. The Special Rapporteur wishes to recall that peaceful sharing of one’s belief is a critical element of the freedom to manifest one’s religion or belief, which explains its legal status in international instruments and in the 1981 Declaration. As stated in the section on missionary activities and propagation of one’s religion in her 2005 report to the General Assembly (see A/60/399, paras. 59-68), missionary activity is accepted as a legitimate expression of religion or belief and therefore enjoys the protection afforded by articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other relevant international instruments. Consequently, proselytism and related missionary activities through peaceful means of