A
PRESENTATION BY PAUL C. ANANABA ESQ AT THE 6TH WORLD CONFERENCE OF
INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS LIBERTY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE AT
FEBRUARY
26TH TO
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN AFRICA
Countries in the African Union appear to be new comers’ in the area of
recognition and constitutional guarantee of religious liberty.
1. MILESTONES
(a)
The African Charter on Human and
Peoples Rights was drafted in implementation of Decision 115 [XVI] of the
Assembly of Heads of States and Governments at its 16th Ordinary
session held in Monrovia Liberia from 17th – 20th July
1979. It requested the Secretary General of the Organization to organize as
soon as possible in an
prepare a preliminary
draft of an African Charter on human and Peoples rights.
(b) The
restricted meeting of experts met in
(c) Article
2 of the Charter provides that;
“every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment of the
rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the present Charter without
restrictions of any kind such as race, ethic group, colour,
sex, language, religion”.
(d) The
African Charter on Human and peoples Rights, no doubt influenced many African
Countries in making similar provisions in their Constitutions and thus
improving their human rights records.
(e)
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The draftsmen of the Charter were
influenced by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950).
The Charter was expected to
reflect African philosophy of Law the peculiar needs of African and African
Conception of Human Right.
3. HUMAN RIGHT TO
RELIGION IN SELECTED AFRICAN COUNTRIES
(a) EGYPT
i. Section
40 of the Constitution of Arab Egypt provides that
“All citizens are equal before the Law, as they are equal in respect to
the general rights before the law, and duties: there is no discrimination
between them in that regard on account of sex, origin, language, religion
or belief”.
ii. In practice,
while there is virtually no restraints on Muslim evangelistic outreach in
“ If someone converts from Islam to another religion such as Christianity
or Judaism, he will not be allowed to declare that officially”, concluding
that,
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“It is not mentioned that he is not
allowed but it is understood”. 2
iii. This double
standard of having the Constitution provide for religious liberty and the
practical understanding being restrictive is a challenge in the continent.
v.
Freedom House rating of religious
freedom in
free 4.
iv. In 2000 the
Related Centre for Religious Freedom placed
vii. Islam is the
state religion and the government controls the major mosques. There have been
disputes between Pope Shenouda III of
viii.
…/4
An improvement in the situation began in
1999 when President Mubarak subjected repairs of places of worship to Civil
Constitution Code of 1976. Even in this situation,
local authorities
prevent repairs or building where the permits which are difficult to come by
had been secureds.
BAHAI ISSUE
(b) In
1960, Bahai institution and community activities were
banned by Presidential Decree of President Gamal Abdel Nasser. All Bahai community
properties including Bahai centers, Libraries and
cemeteries, were subsequently confiscated. Bahai’s
were not allowed to hold identity cards, and are thus, among other things, not
able to own property, attend University, have a business, obtain birth,
marriage and death Certificates. In 2001 18 Egyptian Bahais
were arrested on “Suspicion of insulting religion” and detained several months
without being formally charged.
(c) On
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3.
a. In Eastern
b. Uganda is a
country with multi ethnic background ranging from indigenous beliefs,
Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Bahai,
with Christianity accounting for about 85:1% of the population.
(c) MILESTONES
-
The religious liberty situation in
-
This group came into existence in
-
They emphasized observance of the
Ten Commandants, the apocalypse advantage, the role of Mother Mary in the
apocalypse and likened themselves to Noah’s
-
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Their method of
operation were largely secret and silent until 1998 when their school
was shot down by
-
In March 2000 about 300 followers
died in a fire accident largely believed to be cult suicide..
-
Further investigations reveal that
actual death toll is above 1,000 persons in what will appear to be mass murder
by its leadership.
-
The role of the Lord’s Resistance
Army should be noted.
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5.
(a) The Constitution
of the
(b) BILL OF
RIGHTS
The relevant Sections of the Bill of Rights are Sections 15, 17, 18 and
31.
Section 15 provides as follows:-
1.
Everyone has the right to freedom
of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion.
2.
Religious observations may be
conducted at state – aided institutions, provided that
(a)
Those observances follow rules made
by the
appropriate public authorities;
(b)
They are conducted on an equitable
basis; and
(c)
Attendance of them is free and
voluntary.
3. a. This section does not prevent legislation
recognizing;
i.
Marriages concluded under any
tradition, or a system of religious, personal or family law; or
ii.
Systems of personal and family law
under any tradition, or adhered to by persons professing a particular religion.
b. Recognition in
terms of paragraph (a) must be consistent with the section and the other
provisions of the constitution.
Section 17 provides that:
“Everyone has the right, peacefully and unarmed, to assemble, to
demonstrate…”
Section 18 provides that:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of association”.
Section 31 provides that:
1. Persons
belonging to a cultural, religious or linguistic community may not be denied
the right, with other members of that community.
(a) To enjoy their culture, practice their religion and use
their religion and use their language; ……”
6 NIGERIA
(a)
(b) MILESTONES
-
Fundamental Rights including right
to religion was first introduction into Nigerian Constitution in the 1960
Independence Constitution based on the recommendations of Sir Willink’s Committee on minority fears.
-
All Nigerian Constitutions
thereafter retained the right to religion, including the 1999 Constitution.
(c) Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution
provides as follows:-
(1)
Every person shall be entitled to
freedom of thought, conscience, and religion including freedom to change his
religious belief and freedom (either alone or in community with others and in
public or private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship,
teaching, practice and observance.
(2)
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No person attending any place of education
shall be required to receive religious instruction or to take in or attend any
religious ceremonies or observance, if such instructions, ceremonies or
observance relates to a religion
other than his own or
a religion not approved by his parent or guardian.
(3)
No religious community or
denomination shall be prevented from providing religious instruction for pupils
of that community or denomination in any place of education maintained wholly
by that community or denomination.
(d) Section10 of the 1999
Constitution provides as
follows:-
The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any
religion as State Religion.
(e) Section
42 of the Constitution provides that:
(1)
A citizen of
place of origin, sex,
religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a
person.
(a)
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Be subjected either expressly by or in the
practical application of any law in force or any executive or administrative or
administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to
which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of
origin, sex, religious or political opinions are not made subject; or
(b)
be accorded either expressly by or in the practical application of any
law in force or any such executive or administrative action, any privilege or
advantage that is not accorded to citizens of
(e) Section 15 of the Constitution
provides that
(1) The motto of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be unity and Faith,
Peace and Progress.
(2) Accordingly, national integration shall be actively encouraged, whilst
discrimination on the grounds of place of origin, sex, religion, status,
ethnic or linguistic association or ties shall be prohibited.
(f) FURTHER
MILESTONES -
-
Maitasine religious riots of 1980-1984 claimed over 2000 lives
-
-
The Sharia
debates at various Constituent Assemblies and their implication on national and
regional in stability
-
Bauchi religious riots of April 1991
-
Zangon Kataf religious riots of 1992
-
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Sagamu riots.
(g) SHARIA
ADOPTION BY SOME NIGERIA STATES
i. Nigerians and indeed the International
community were stunned when Zamfara state Governor Yerima Ahmed Sanni fulfilled his
quest to adopt Shariah Penal Codes on
ii. The adoption
of Sharia raged so much controversy that even the
best legal minds in the country were divided amongst themselves. However,
within months of the implementation of Sharia Penal
Codes several “apparent unjustifiable” decisions had been handed down. The
annexed Table A shows details of the decisions
(h) CHALLENGES
TO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN
i. The right to religion is prone to several
challenges and abuse. In
-
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were lost, a cinema,
a school and at least 500 market stalls were destroyed.
-
Efuru goddess – a deity in Ide-Oha and Ukehe Communities in
-
Some churches block major
expressways, roads and streets incandescing the rest
of Nigerians during their church worships and services.
-
Some religious groups build their
places of worship in residential and non-designated areas with loud speakers
fixed outside their worship halls.
-
In 1986 Nigerian Army, banned its
members from joining Guru Maharaji group.
-
On March 2004, the National
Broadcast Commission Clamped a ban on unverified religious miracles broadcast
which raged so much controversy through thus was said to be 13 Pentecostal
Pastors.
(i) PASTOR CHUKWUEMEKA EZEUGO (REVEREND KING)
-
On January 11, 2007 Honourable
Justice Olubunmi Oyewole
sentenced Reverend King General Overseer of Christian Praying Assembly, Lagos
to death for pouring petroleum (fuel products on his church members and
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setting fire on them. One of them died – Miss Ann Uzo
King.
- Evidence before
the court showed that Rev. King was angered by the alleged sexual relationship
among members of his congregation.
- According to
the Judge, “religious fundamentalism has never done the society any good, and
it is sad that
- “The followers
of Ezeugo asked for bread but he gave them stones and
offered them snake when they sought meat….”
7. PROBLEMS
(a) - The provision of religious freedom in the African Charter
on Human
and peoples Rights is not detailed enough. Infact it
only made a passing mention of it.
(b) - African conception of Human rights which was one of
the driving
force for an African Charter was not reflected in the Charter.
(c) - A careful examination of the provisions of the
Charter reveals that it heavily relied on foreign
Jurisprudence – Judgeo – Graeco
and Islamic.
(d) - The African Commission on Human Rights has
not done
enough.
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(e) - The Constitution of many African countries
are not
democratic enough and where they do, they are not comprehensive.
((f) - The executive – heads of states of many African
countries are autocratic and dictatorial.
(g) - The Judiciary in most African States are
not
independent.
8. RELIGIOUS RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS GENERALLY IN AFRICA
(a)
In June 1989, the Ghanaian
Government banned the activities of the Watch Tower Society (Jehovah’s
Witnesses) and the Church of Jesus Christ for Later Day Saints (Mormons) on
broad basis of their conduct in a manner which did not only undermine the
Sovereignty of Ghana. But also not conducive to public order.
(b)
The enforcement of Islamic Penal
Code in
(c)
Religious persecution and killings
in
(d)
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Civil strife in
(e)
Although religions is generally
encouraged in
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