Compendium of Standards, Good Practices and Recommendations such data was to make appropriate funeral arrangements in case of the death of a service member. Other reasons cited include finding out the composition of the defence forces, and being able to make appropriate provisions for the religious needs of personnel. In all states where religious data are collected, service personnel also have the right not to declare their religious affiliation,354 in line with key human rights standards.355 Service personnel’s access to relevant religious representatives is a key aspect of freedom of religion or belief in the armed forces. Responses to the ODIHR-DCAF questionnaire indicated clear differences among participating States in terms of the types of religious representatives provided (see Box 9.5). Box 9.5: Types of religious representatives in selected OSCE participating States356 Buddhism The United Kingdom Christianity Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom Hinduism The United Kingdom Islam Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Norway, the United Kingdom Judaism Austria, Lithuania, the United Kingdom Sikhism The United Kingdom In some countries, such as Norway, the armed forces also provide access to humanist counsellors, who essentially offer support to non-religious service personnel (see Box 9.6). Although the need for religious representatives depends on the number of service personnel affected, it is good practice to provide access to religious representatives for minority religions. The needs of service personnel that do not have access to representatives of their own religion may also be partially met by establishing religious associations among members of the armed forces. In multinational forces, the pooling of religious representatives among contributor countries may also help to address the question of representation for minority religions. 354 ODIHR-DCAF 2018 questionnaire, qu. 22. 355 See UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 22, op. cit., note 278, para. 3, stressing that no one can be compelled to reveal her/his thoughts or adherence to a religion or belief. See also: Council of Europe, Guide to Article 9, op. cit., note 342, paras. 54-57, which clarifies that states may not ask after persons’ religion or belief, or force them to express such beliefs, either directly or indirectly. 356 ODIHR-DCAF 2018 questionnaire, qu. 25. 153