A/HRC/37/49 I. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 1. In its resolution 31/16, adopted in March 2016, the Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief for a period of three years. Ahmed Shaheed was appointed as the Special Rapporteur at the thirty-second session of the Council and he assumed his mandate on 1 November 2016. 2. An overview of the activities of the mandate holder between 1 November 2016 and 31 July 2017 is provided in the most recent interim report that he presented to the General Assembly at its seventy-second session (see A/72/365, paras. 1 and 2). In addition, he was invited to a number of meetings and consultations on freedom of religion or belief, including the meeting of the International Contact Group on Freedom of Religion, held in New York, and the five-year review of the Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, held in Rabat in December 2017. 3. Furthermore, he undertook a country visit to Uzbekistan from 2 to 12 October 2017. In 2017, the Special Rapporteur sent 40 communications and issued 14 press releases raising his voice against the violation of freedom of religion or belief in different countries. He also sent country visit requests to Armenia, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Tunisia. His requests to visit Tunisia and the Netherlands were accepted. II. Relationships between State and religion and their impact on freedom of religion or belief A. Introduction 4. States in every region are increasingly confronting the challenge of safeguarding the right of all persons to freedom of religion or belief while protecting a range of other rights. Establishing a sound body of laws and policies for protecting freedom of religion or belief often involves balancing a range of fundamental rights guaranteed by international human rights instruments, amid manifold political, economic, social and cultural pressures. More people than ever are living abroad. Over 258 million people were international migrants worldwide in 2017, compared with 173 million in 2000. 1 The pressures engendered by migration and globalization, along with easily available telecommunications and social media tools, are accelerating the exchange of ideas and values, ultimately changing the demographic and religious landscape of many societies and accentuating competing interests. 5. These changes have intensified the rise of fundamentalist movements mobilized against perceived threats from the underpinnings of social change and modernity. Some of these movements possess nationalist orientations that serve to oppose State efforts to respond to demographic shifts by accommodating newer religious communities, including by expanding protections for their full enjoyment of human rights. These circumstances are made even more complex by heightened security concerns emanating from ongoing acts of violence carried out by extremists, which have resulted in greater State interference with religious expression. Religious minorities, in particular, are increasingly facing laws that in effect restrict their freedom, either alone or within a community, to manifest their religion or belief in worship, observance, teaching and practice. 6. The role of religion in shaping the public agenda and the duties of States to uphold human rights for all are becoming increasingly salient in international relations and within national politics. In most multicultural democratic societies or countries where “secularism” 1 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, International Migration Report 2017: Highlights (New York, 2017). 3