E/CN.4/2004/63 page 4 Introduction 1. Since 1987, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief of the Commission on Human Rights has been examining incidents and government measures in all parts of the world that are incompatible with the provisions of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief and has recommended remedial measures for such situations. Since then, the Special Rapporteur has submitted to the Commission 16 general reports and 17 reports on in situ visits; he has also submitted nine interim reports to the General Assembly since 1994. 2. As his mandate draws to a close after 11 years, the Special Rapporteur has decided to take stock of his activities since 1993, including his management and prevention activities in the area of freedom of religion or belief and his cooperation with the Commission, United Nations human rights mechanisms, the specialized agencies of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). I. REPORT ON MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES A. In situ visits and follow-up 1. In situ visits 3. In situ visits have been an important part of the Special Rapporteur’s work. In accordance with the resolutions of the Commission and the General Assembly, the purpose of these visits is to enable him to: (a) Consider, on the spot, incidents and government measures that are incompatible with freedom of religion or belief, as well as positive experiences and initiatives in this area; (b) Formulate recommendations aimed not only at the State visited but also at the international community. 4. Since taking up his mandate, the Special Rapporteur has paid 16 visits, or 2 visits a year on average, to States in all regions of the world (see table 1). In September 2003, the Special Rapporteur went to Georgia and Romania; the reports on these visits are contained in the two addenda to this report. 5. In parallel with the visits undertaken, requests for permission to visit were sent to six States (see table 2) but these remain unanswered, despite reminders in follow-up letters, in general reports to the Commission and the General Assembly and in the resolutions of these bodies, including Commission on Human Rights resolution 2003/54, in which the Commission “urges all Governments … to respond favourably to his [the Special Rapporteur’s] request to visit their countries so as to enable him to fulfil his mandate even more effectively”. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Governments approached have not cooperated with him in the fulfilment of his mandate with a view to improving the protection and promotion of human rights in general and freedom of religion or belief in particular.