A/62/280 3. Visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 23. The Special Rapporteur visited the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 4 to 15 June 2007. The latest official national census of 2001 indicates the following data on religious affiliation in Great Britain: 71.8 per cent Christian, 2.8 per cent Muslim, 1 per cent Hindu, 0.6 per cent Sikh, 0.5 per cent Jewish and 0.3 per cent Buddhist, with 15.1 per cent of the population having no religion and 7.8 per cent of people choosing not to state their religion. In Northern Ireland, 85.8 per cent of people answered the 2001 census question by stating that they belonged to or were brought up in the Christian religion (Catholic or Protestant), while 13.9 per cent had no religion or did not state any affiliation. However, other surveys measuring “belief” or “practice” rather than “religious affiliation” produce significantly lower figures for the Christian denominations in the United Kingdom. 24. There is a great wealth of experience in the United Kingdom in dealing with religious tensions and terrorist acts carried out under the cover of religion. After decades of religiously/politically motivated violence in Northern Ireland which claimed more than 3,500 lives, there seems now to be hope for a shared future. The Special Rapporteur was informed of promising initiatives which seek to bridge the sectarian divide between Christians, both at the political and the grass-roots level. However, there remain several contentious areas such as religious inequalities in the labour market, housing, education, policing and the criminal justice agencies. The Special Rapporteur also stresses the importance of not forgetting the concerns of religious minorities in Northern Ireland. 25. The Special Rapporteur notes the significant potential to draw some lessons learned from the response to the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland to address new challenges in devising counter-terrorism measures in the United Kingdom. While the Special Rapporteur is conscious of the fact that States are obliged to take effective measures in combating terrorist attacks, she has received allegations of the abuse of counter-terrorism laws which are largely perceived to target the Muslim population in the United Kingdom. 26. On a general level in the United Kingdom, further issues of concern relate to blasphemy laws, religious education and collective worship in schools, the balancing of competing rights and the situation of women and converts. World politics also have repercussions at the domestic level, for example the impact of developments in the Middle East on the situation of the Jewish community. Furthermore, asylum claims, including those based on well-founded fear of religious persecution, are subject to rigid scrutiny and few applications are successful at the stage of the initial decision. 6 C. Thematic reports to the Human Rights Council 27. In the period under review, the Special Rapporteur has prepared two thematic reports at the request of the Human Rights Council (see decision 1/107 and resolution 4/10). __________________ 6 07-48490 A general discussion of the situation of refugees, asylum-seekers and internally displaced persons can be found below in section III.A. 9