A/55/280/Add.2 Bangladesh’s ethnic communities, which make up slightly more than one per cent of the population and are mostly located in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and on the plains of the Greater Dinajpur, Rajshashi, Mymensingh, Sylhet, and Tangail Districts. According to information gathered from non-governmental sources, those ethnic groups are the Bongshi/Rajbongshi, Bawm, Buna, Chakma, Koach/Koch, Garo/Mandi, Hajong, Harizon, Khami, Khasi/Khasia, Khyang, Lushai, Mahat/Mahatu, Marma, Manipuri, Mro, Mong, Munda/Mundia, Murang, Pahari/Paharia, Pankue/Pankho, Pathor, Rajbansi, Sak, Saontal/Santal, Tanchangya, Tipra/Tripura, Urang/ Oraon, Uruo/Urua/Uria, etc. Among these communities, the largest are, in descending order, the Chakma, the Santal, the Marma, the Tipra, and the Garo. With regard to the Chittagong Hill Tracts, nongovernmental specialists say that whereas the Marma, the Chakma and the Tanchangya are Buddhist communities, smaller ethnic communities that were originally animist, such as the Bawm, the Lushai, and the Pankho, are gradually converting to Christianity, as a result of missionary activity. Outside the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Garo (who have their own religious traditions, which are reminiscent of animism) are mostly Christians. According to the same sources, the Koch, Hajong, Pathor and Manipuri are Hindu communities. The Santal have preserved their animist traditions, but they have been influenced by Hinduism, and some have converted to Christianity. According to the experts consulted, conversion to Christianity has been taking place since the British colonial period, and that this process was preceded by the spreading of Hinduism in the northern and north-eastern border regions, and of Buddhism among the Chittagong Hill Tracts. There have been very few conversions to the Muslim faith. 11. With respect to the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the Special Rapporteur obtained non-governmental estimates indicating that ethnic communities, which formerly accounted for most of the population (97.3 per cent in 1947), presently account for 50 per cent of the population, due to the large (mostly Muslim) Bengali community. According to information provided by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the 1991 census found the following distribution of religions in Rangamati: 26,382 Muslims, 8,871 Hindus, 12,006 Buddhists, and 217 Christians. The same sources gave the following figures for the number of religious institutions in the Rangamati Municipal Area: 31 4 mosques, 8 mandirs, 10 Buddhist temples, 2 churches, 2 madrasahs, 4 orphan centres, 26 maktabs, 5 Muslim graves, 3 burning yards, and 1 Christian grave. II. Legal aspects of freedom of religion or belief 12. Before we consider the Constitution and other legislation, we should note that Bangladesh is a party to the following international human rights instruments: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Convention on the Political Rights of Women; the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages; the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid; the Slavery Convention; the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery; and the Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. A. Constitutional provisions 13. The Constitution approved by the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh on 4 November 1972 and promulgated on 16 December 1972 was suspended on 24 March 1982 by a military coup d’état, and then restored on 10 November 1986. Articles 39 and 41 of the Constitution guarantee freedom of religion and conscience and their manifestations, while defining certain limits. 14. Article 39 guarantees (a) freedom of thought and conscience; (b) the right of every citizen to freedom of speech and expression; and (c) freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.