A/HRC/37/49/Add.2 79. Various government agencies, including the Ministry of the Interior, the National Security Service, anti-terrorism officials and the Customs Service, reportedly carried out raids of social gatherings and private homes of registered and unregistered religious communities and confiscated religious literature. Illegally imported religious literature and materials and the equipment used to reproduce them were destroyed. Moreover, legally imported or locally produced materials that had been authorized have sometimes been confiscated. 80. Members of the various religious communities are afraid to keep religious literature in their homes. They have sometimes had to destroy their own sacred texts. Until recently, religious literature, except for approved copies of the Qur’an, had to be kept at registered places of worship. Now, Christians are allowed to keep an approved copy of the Bible in their homes. However, neither the Bible nor the Qur’an may be read in a group, unless it is in an authorized place of worship. 81. The State has also intentionally blocked access to several websites that have religious content, including Christian and Islamic-related news. Authorities have frequently seized religious literature from members of religious communities — including registered ones — entering or leaving the country, citing customs violations. Pilgrims returning from Mecca have often had their literature checked and, sometimes, confiscated. 82. Government representatives said that thousands of religious books are published annually in the country, including eight volumes of the Qur’an in Braille, in 2003. Nonetheless, the very requirement of having to obtain permission to import, publish, distribute or simply own religious literature is incompatible with international standards of freedom of religion or belief. As stated earlier, limitations on human rights must be the exception and not the rule. The restrictive provisions also violate the freedom of expression as enshrined in article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. D. Muslim pilgrimage 83. The Special Rapporteur received mixed information on the ability of Uzbek Muslims to travel to Mecca for the pilgrimage. Officials stated that the number of pilgrims authorized to go on the hajj was set according to the quota allocated by the Saudi authorities. The quota was increased from 5,000 to 7,500 in 2017 and it is expected to be increased in 2018. However, other people reported that the State imposed severe restrictions on the participation of Uzbek citizens in the hajj. Some claimed that the Saudi authorities had allocated a higher quota than the actual number of pilgrims allowed to travel. The Muftiate reported that 6,000 people travelled to Mecca for the umrah (nonmandatory pilgrimage). 84. Apparently there is an unwritten rule that only people over 40 years may travel to Mecca for the hajj. Some people explained that it was customary for men and women of an advanced age to contemplate going on pilgrimage. Others complained that there was a long waiting list for the pilgrimage and they feared that they would never make it. While there may be regional variations, the national authorities stated that the waiting list was not longer than three years. 85. Those wishing to go on the pilgrimage must apply in writing through their Mahallas, which submit their lists of applicants for the hajj to the local administrations. The applications are then screened by the local administrations, the National Security Service, the Muftiate and the Committee for Religious Affairs, which endorse or reject the applications. The Mahalla then compiles a district-level waiting list of applicants and when the applicants’ turn to travel comes up, they are invited to the local district administration to collect certificates concerning their place of residence and health and a reference letter from their local Mahalla. 86. Even successful applications can sometimes be complicated if exit visas are refused or have expired. The National Security Service allegedly maintains an exit blacklist and does not allow some people to leave the country. The Special Rapporteur was told that special instructions or “orientation” were given to successful applicants by the authorities on how to behave on pilgrimage. The organization of the pilgrimage is fully coordinated and undertaken by the authorities and National Security Service officers reportedly accompany the pilgrims to monitor their activities. Although the authorities might argue 15