Colombo, Sri Lanka - A top UN official said religious minorities in predominantly Buddhist Sri Lanka could be persecuted under proposed laws aimed at stopping faith conversions.
The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir, said there had been increased attacks against churches and the authorities had failed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Two bills before Sri Lanka's parliament that propose to outlaw what are called "unethical religious conversions" were a threat to religious freedom in Sri Lanka, Jahangir told reporters on Thursday.
"In my opinion, the provisions of both draft bills could result in the persecution of religious minorities rather than the protection and promotion of religious tolerance," she said.
"The enactment of these bills could seriously undermine the culture of religious tolerance enjoyed for decades in this country."
The all-monk National Heritage party, which won nine seats in the 225-member assembly and is a member of the opposition, introduced an anti-conversion bill last year. The coalition government led by President Chandrika Kumaratunga too presented a similar bill.
A National Heritage party spokesman said their intention was to outlaw unethical conversion by offering cash and other inducements, especially to the rural poor, if they seek to change from Buddhism or Hinduism to Christianity.
There had been a spate of attacks against Christian places of worship since December 2003 after the funeral of a popular Buddhist monk, Gangodavila Soma, who led a campaign against religious conversions.
The monk's death from a heart attack in Russia fuelled conspiracy theories despite an autopsy showing he died of natural causes.
Christians make up 7.5 percent of the population of Sri Lanka, where more than 60,000 people have died in a 30-year armed campaign by separatist Tamils, who are predominantly Hindu.
Sri Lanka's constitution grants the foremost place to Buddhism, which is practised by nearly 70 percent of the island's 19.5 million people.
Hindus make up about 15 percent and Muslims about 7.5 percent.