SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION TO VISIT FRANCE

13 September 2005


The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Asma Jahangir, will visit France from 19 to 29 September 2005 at the invitation of the Government.

During her visit the Special Rapporteur will hold talks with Government officials responsible for religious matters and will meet with representatives of religious organizations, non-governmental organizations of relevance to her mandate and individuals.

A report on the visit, including conclusions and recommendations, will be submitted to the Commission on Human Rights in time for its next session in the spring of 2006.

Ms. Jahangir, a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, was appointed Special Rapporteur on religious freedom in 2004. Her mandate consists of protecting and promoting freedom of religion or belief in the light of, among other instruments, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981).


Further information on the work of the Special Rapporteur is available at the following website:
http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/religion/index.htm

For more information on the visit please call: +41 22 917 9827, acardon@ohchr.org

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For use of the information media; not an official record