A/65/207 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief was created by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1986/20. 1 In 2007, the mandate was reviewed and renewed by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 6/37. 2 2. The General Assembly, in its resolution 64/164, welcomed the work of the Special Rapporteur and requested her to submit an interim report to the Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. Consequently, the Special Rapporteur elaborates in section II of the present report some issues of concern with regard to freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief. In section III, the Special Rapporteur gives an overview of the activities carried out under the mandate since the submission of her previous report to the Assembly (A/64/159). In section IV, she provides some general conclusions and recommendations. 3. On 18 June 2010, the Special Rapporteur’s mandate was extended for a further period of three years by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 14/11. As the term of Asma Jahangir as Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief expires on 31 July 2010 after six years on the mandate, she would like to take this opportunity to thank all Member States and representatives of civil society for their cooperation and support during the course of her term. The Special Rapporteur is also grateful for the quality of the assistance that she has received from staff members at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). 4. Heiner Bielefeldt, the new mandate holder who was appointed during the fourteenth session of the Human Rights Council, takes office as Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief on 1 August 2010. II. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief 5. In its resolution 64/164, the General Assembly urged States to step up their efforts to protect and promote freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief and identified 13 areas where efforts to that end should be intensified. 3 In the present report, the Special Rapporteur would like to address each of those 13 areas by elaborating on some issues of concern and by providing examples from the mandate practice over the past six years, including from country visits and communications sent to the Governments concerned. A. Adequate and effective guarantees of freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief for all without distinction 6. At the outset, the Special Rapporteur would like to emphasize that constitutions and domestic legislation must guarantee freedom of religion or belief and non-discrimination. In this context, she notes with regret that in recent years __________________ 1 2 3 4 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1986, Supplement No. 2 (E/1986/22), chap. II, sect. A. See A/HRC/6/22, chap. I. See paragraph 11 of General Assembly resolution 64/164. 10-47047