A/HRC/13/40/Add.3 D. Religious demography 15. According to the 2002 official census, the permanent population of central Serbia and the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina consisted of 7.5 million people.4 Approximately 85 per cent of the population was Orthodox Christians, most being members of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Roman Catholics comprised another 5.5 per cent and Protestants made up around 1 per cent of the population. In addition, 3.2 per cent of the population were Muslims. There is also a small Jewish community, comprising around 0.01 per cent of the population. Another 0.5 per cent was atheists and the religious affiliation of 4.5 per cent of the population was unknown or undeclared in the 2002 official census. 16. The Ministry of Religious Affairs indicated that almost all believers in Serbia were registered as belonging to one of the five “traditional” churches or two “traditional” religious communities. The claim that the believers of “non-traditional” Protestant churches account for only 1 per cent of the Republic of Serbia’s population, however, has been challenged by civil society organizations, which refer to the optional character of the census question and argue that many Protestants hesitated to express their confessional affiliation owing to their fear of suffering consequences. E. Issues of concern for the mandate 17. The Special Rapporteur would like to highlight some aspects of the status of freedom of religion or belief in the Republic of Serbia. In the section below, she focuses on the following issues of concern for her mandate: (a) implementation of the 2006 Law on Churches and Religious Communities; (b) discrimination against minority religious or belief communities; (c) places of worship; and (d) intra-religious tensions. 1. Implementation of the 2006 Law on Churches and Religious Communities 18. The 2006 Law on Churches and Religious Communities5 has aggrieved a number of religious communities and groups that are seeking registration or have decided to stay away from it because of discriminatory effects of the law. The law defines seven “traditional” churches and religious communities, which benefit from automatic registration and exemptions with regard to paying administrative and property taxes. Religious communities that are not considered “traditional” have to be re-registered according to the 2006 Law on Churches and Religious Communities. However, there seems to be some lack of clarity with regard to the number of signatures required for “non-traditional” communities in order to apply for registration. The Minister for Religious Affairs stated that the statutory threshold of 0.001 per cent according to the most recent official population census would mean that around 100 people were required for the application. However, members of religious minorities informed the Special Rapporteur that initially only 75 signatures were required and this threshold was raised in 2006 by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. 19. Several “non-traditional” communities complained about the denial of legal status by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, sometimes despite court judgements in favour of their 4 5 Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, 2002 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings, Book 3 on “Confession, Mother Tongue and National Identity or Ethnicity According to Age and Gender – Data by Municipalities” (http://webrzs.statserb.sr.gov.yu/axd/en/Zip/CensusBook3.zip); the preface highlights that “on the territory of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohia, the census will be accomplished only when all necessary conditions will be fulfilled.” Concerning the draft law, see E/CN.4/2005/61/Add.1, para. 210; E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.1, paras. 336340; and A/HRC/4/21/Add.1, paras. 275-276. 7