E/CN.4/2002/73/Add.1 page 10 53. While recalling the traditional and historical role of the Catholic Church in Argentina, they stress that, from the earliest days of Argentina’s independence and, in particular, since the signature in 1925 of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the United Provinces of Río de la Plata and the United Kingdom Government, other religious denominations have been welcome. Anglican and Presbyterian immigrants were soon followed by other Christian groups, such as Orthodox Christians, and by Jewish and Muslim communities. With time, other forms of evangelical expression and small groups of other denominations, particularly from Asia, came to settle, or were established, in Argentina. Religious communities composed originally of foreigners, who enjoyed full freedom and equality, gradually became and are today active communities of Argentines with their own religious beliefs. 54. Although isolated cases of intolerance were mentioned, it was stressed that Argentina continues to be an example of religious coexistence. The Vice-President of the Supreme Court referred, for example, to the significant progress made in recognizing and protecting religious freedom since the restoration of democracy in 1983, including the incorporation into the internal legal system of major international human rights instruments relating to freedom of religion or belief, which have been given constitutional status since the 1994 constitutional reform. 55. Attention was also drawn to the importance which the Government attaches to questions of religious freedom. For his first visit abroad, for example, the President of the Republic went to Stockholm during the International Forum on the Holocaust. The Government also has a department of worship to guarantee the free exercise of the right to freedom of religion by all inhabitants of the country. 56. With regard to relations between the State, including the Department of Worship, and religious communities, the President of the Republic, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of Worship explained that State support for the Catholic Church, which is provided for in article 2 of the Constitution, in no way signified the establishment of an official religion and that government action in respect of the Catholic Church, like any other religious community, was based on the principles of cooperation and respect for the autonomy of religious organizations, for example, with regard to the internal disciplinary system of religions. The special status granted to the Catholic Church by article 2 of the Constitution does not in any way involve discriminatory treatment of other religions. According to the President of the Republic, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Vice-President of the Supreme Court and the Secretary of Worship, its basis is historical (namely, the role of the Catholic Church in the formation of the Argentine nation) and sociological (reflecting the majority of the population, which is Catholic), but it does not affect Argentina’s religious pluralism or the principle of non-discrimination. This principle, which was established during the 1994 constitutional reform and in the legislation on freedom of religion and belief (see part I), as well as by the presence of members of all majority and minority religions in the highest Government and administration posts and in the private sector, means that there is equality of treatment between Catholics and non-Catholics. The Vice-President of the Supreme Court explained that the principle of non-discrimination was applicable because the constitutional provision on support for the Catholic Church was to be interpreted in the light of international standards.