E/CN.4/2001/0063 page 40 155. The Special Rapporteur has still not received any replies to communications or various communications addressed to the following 34 States in the context of his report to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-sixth session (E/CN.4/2000/65): Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominican Republic, Gabon, Greece, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Israel, Kazakhstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Yemen. II. IN SITU VISITS AND FOLLOW-UP PROCEDURE 156. In situ visits remain one of the main ways to facilitate dialogue and gain deeper understanding of situations regarding tolerance and non-discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief. A. Visit to Turkey 157. The Special Rapporteur visited Turkey in 1999. His report on this visit, which took place in December 1999, was submitted to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session (A/55/280/Add.1) and transmitted for information to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-sixth session. It deals with law and policy in the field of freedom of religion and belief and on the situation of non-Muslim communities. 158. Certain pieces of legislation include provisions to protect freedom of religion and belief (for example, in general terms, the Turkish Constitution), whereas others (for example, legislation on given names, foundations and the “non-utilization” of the property of non-Muslim minorities) raise serious issues of compatibility with international law and jurisprudence in the field of human rights. There are also problems posed by the failure to recognize conscientious objection or to abide by provisions designed to protect the legitimate rights of minorities in the field of freedom of religion, for example the existence of domestic laws, regulations, jurisprudence and practices contrary to the Treaty of Lausanne of 24 July 1923. 159. The policy of the Turkish State, it must be said, is complex and contrasts sharply with the categorical assertion by certain authorities that such policy is a model of tolerance and non-discrimination. The Special Rapporteur understands the legitimate concerns of the authorities in the face of religious extremism, but he believes that the active role of the State in religious affairs, for example through its Turkization policies, constitutes interference not only in the way people manifest their belief but also in the actual freedom of religion and belief of both the Muslim majority and the non-Muslim communities. 160. As far as non-Muslims are concerned, with the exception of the Jewish minority, whose situation is entirely satisfactory, the situation of the Christian communities - Greek Orthodox, Armenian (Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant), Assyro-Chaldean and Turkish Catholic and Protestant - raises problems with regard to the principles of tolerance and non-discrimination. These communities have to endure many hardships and violations, including the confiscation of