A/HRC/10/8/Add.4 page 17 persuasion cannot be considered as a violation of the freedom of religion or belief of others if all involved parties are adults able to reason on their own and if there is no relation of dependency or hierarchy between the missionaries and the objects of the missionary activities. H. Conscientious objection 50. The Special Rapporteur remains very concerned that conscientious objection is considered as a criminal offence in Turkmenistan. Indeed, according to article 219 of the Criminal code, “evasion of call-up to military service in the absence of legal grounds to an exemption from this service is punished by corrective work of up to two years or imprisonment of up to two years”. A number of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been detained in the past years for having refused to perform military service due to their religious beliefs. The Special Rapporteur was informed of a case where a person, who had already been convicted in 2000 to one year of detention for having evaded military service, had to face criminal prosecution for the same offence again in 2007. This individual was, however, pardoned by a Presidential decree in September 2007. 51. With regard to the right to conscientious objection, the Special Rapporteur wishes to refer to a 2006 case9 in which the Human Rights Committee observed that while the right to manifest one’s religion or belief does not as such imply the right to refuse all obligations imposed by law, it provides certain protection, consistent with article 18, paragraph 3, against being forced to act against genuinely-held religious belief. The Committee also recalled its general view expressed in general comment No. 22 (1993), that to compel a person to use lethal force, although such use would seriously conflict with the requirements of his/her conscience or religious beliefs, falls within the ambit of article 18. VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusions 52. Turkmenistan is a fast progressing country. A high level of tolerance and a climate of religious harmony prevail at the societal level in Turkmenistan; however, there still continues to be mistrust of religious organizations and collective manifestation of religion. The dispassionate attitude, and yet respect, that most citizens display toward religion is conducive to the climate of religious harmony that prevails in Turkmenistan’s society. Fears that this harmony might be disrupted by external extremist groups have, however, led State officials to be suspicious towards certain religious communities, in particular those believers who are not Sunni Muslim or Russian Orthodox. Likewise, officials indicated their concerns that certain groups may undertake illegal activities under religious cover. Yet, the Special Rapporteur would like to emphasize that the enactment and implementation of laws which unduly restrict freedom of religion or belief cannot provide an efficient and long-term solution in order to curb criminal activities which can and must be sanctioned by due process and general laws existing in the country. 9 Views of the Human Rights Committee under art. 5, para. 4, of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, communications Nos. 1321/2004 and 1322/2004, Mr. Yeo-Bum Yoon and Mr. Myung-Jin Choi v. Republic of Korea (CCPR/C/88D/1321-1322/2004, para. 8.3).