A/HRC/13/40/Add.4 beliefs or proselytism in general.9 In this context, the Special Rapporteur is concerned about reports of discriminatory application of article 13 of the Decree by local authorities to the detriment of religious minorities. 30. Other ambiguous wording is used in article 2 of the Decree which refers to the “consent of believers without any coercion or bribing from any political institutions or individuals from outside or inside the country”. Similarly, the State declared on 25 September 2009 that article 18 of the Covenant should not be construed as “authorizing or encouraging any activities, including economic means, by anyone which directly or indirectly, coerce or compel an individual to believe or not to believe in a religion or to convert his or her religion or belief”. The Human Rights Committee in its general comment No. 22 observed that the freedom to “have or to adopt” a religion or belief necessarily entails the freedom to choose a religion or belief, including the right to replace one’s current religion or belief with another or to adopt atheistic views, as well as the right to retain one’s religion or belief. Paragraph 2 of article 18, however, bars coercion that would impair the right to have or adopt a religion or belief, including the use of threat of physical force or penal sanctions to compel believers or non-believers to adhere to their religious beliefs and congregations, to recant their religion or belief, or to convert. The Special Rapporteur would like to reiterate that the adoption of laws criminalizing in abstracto certain acts leading to “unethical” conversion should be avoided, in particular where these laws could apply even in the absence of a complaint by the converted person.10 At the same time, she calls on religious groups, missionaries and humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to abide by relevant codes of conduct11 and guidelines adopted by religious organizations. 2. Implementation of registration provisions 31. The requirement for registration of religious communities and the implementation of the relevant domestic provisions also remain controversial. Article 7 of the Decree provides that all religious organizations in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic that wish to be registered and establish their organizations must submit a comprehensive set of documents through the concerned local administrative authorities to the Central Committee of the Lao Front for National Construction. The authorities have so far registered Buddhism, Christianity (the Lao Evangelical Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church), the Bahá’í faith and Islam. In March 2004, the Lao Front for National Construction reportedly issued an order that required all Protestant groups to become a part of the Lao Evangelical Church or the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. The Special Rapporteur was informed that this order stated that no other Christian denominations would be permitted to register in order to prevent “disharmony” in the religious community. 32. In the past, those who were not registered could not hold religious gatherings or worship collectively, not even in private houses. There are a number of reports of such gatherings being interrupted by local police and individuals arrested for disturbing the “harmony” of the local community. Fortunately, this practice seems to have been discontinued after the intervention of the central authorities. Nevertheless, it was reported that in certain districts the authorities remain sensitive to any assembly of people, religious or otherwise. The procedure and criteria for registration are complex. In some provinces, the authorities believe that registration at the national level suffices, however in other 9 10 11 GE.10-10542 See A/60/399, paras. 59–68. Ibid., para. 68. For example the Code of Conduct for International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and NGOs in Disaster Relief (www.ifrc.org/publicat/conduct/code.asp). 11