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28
November 2007
Asma Jahangir, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of
religion or belief of the United Nations Human Rights Council, made the
following statement on 27 November 2007 in Luanda at the end of her visit to
the Republic of Angola:
"I arrived in Angola seven days ago at the invitation
of the Government in order to inquire into the situation of freedom of
religion of belief in Angola. I am very grateful to the Government for the
cooperation extended to me.
In Luanda I met with the President of the National
Assembly, the President of the Supreme Court, the Vice-Minister of Interior,
Vice-Minister of Justice, Director of the National Institute for Religious
Affairs, Head of the Department of Religious Affairs (the Ministry of
Justice), the Deputy Minister of Culture, the Attorney General, the National
Institute of the Child and the Deputy Governor of Luanda. In Cabinda I met
with the Deputy Governor, the Police Commander, the President of the
Provincial Supreme Court and the Director of the National Institute of the
Child.
I was also privileged to meet with members of civil
society, including NGOs, members of different faith communities and religious
leaders in both Luanda and Cabinda.
I would like to make some preliminary points. First, the
Government's invitation to me represents a commitment to transparency, in the
area I cover, and also allows outside scrutiny of its human rights record.
Secondly, I recognize that Angola only emerged from conflict in 2002
following 27 years of armed conflict which had a devastating effect on the
country and Angolan people.
The right to freedom of religion or belief is enshrined in
Angola's 1992 Constitution which remains in force today. Many in Angola today
are able to practice their religion or belief freely and there is in this
regard a measure of tolerance within Angolan Society. I would however note
the following concerns:
a) Law no. 2/04 on freedom of religion, consciousness and
worship discriminates against religious minorities. It is not in conformity
with international standards to which Angola is a party. It contains
stringent requirements for registration including membership of 100,000
persons who are domiciled in Angola. A number of Christian groups as well as
the Muslim community in Angola have not been granted recognition to date,
despite having submitted several applications for registration. Other
religious minorities have no chance of recognition. It also has potential
practical implications for religious communities, such as a denial of
permission to build places of worship, the closure of places of worship or
the prohibition of religious organizations. I recommend that the law is
reformed and was encouraged by the openness of the Government to review the
provisions of the law.
b) In Cabinda human rights violations by the security
forces continue. These violations and the intra-religious conflict within the
Catholic Church are inter-related and represent challenges to the full
enjoyment by all of the right to freedom of religion or belief. The arrest of
four men on 12 July 2007 peacefully protesting against the newly appointed
bishop at a mass, and the prosecution and conviction with suspended sentences
of three of these under a draconian Colonial Decree dating from 1911,
amounted to a clear violation of their right to freedom of religious
expression. During my visit I received a significant number of reports of
violence, intimidation and harassment and arrests by State agents of
individuals perceived to be associated with the crisis in the Catholic
Church.
c) Regrettably, Angola is also affected by a dominant
global trend of associating Muslims with international terrorism. I have read
a number of media reports linking Muslims in Angola to issues of national
security and international terrorism. In addition high ranking Government
officials are reported in the press stigmatizing followers of Islam. Indeed
several Government actors I spoke with expressed concerns about the presence
of Muslims in the country. I was told that most of the illegal migrants in
the country are Muslims and that they are involved in counterfeiting of money
and money laundering, but we were provided with no evidence of this. The
Government is obliged to promote tolerance and I would hope that
unsubstantiated statements by officials will not be made to the detriment of
any religious community.
d) Witchcraft is widespread in Angola and neighboring countries.
It is historical and valued as a part of many traditional beliefs. However,
some negative manifestations of it have crept into a number of religions and
beliefs adding sanctity to adverse practices leading to abuses of human
rights. The phenomenon of children who are accused of being witches by their
families has significantly increased in recent years. I interviewed children
who were subjected to different forms of abuse by priests or traditional
healers under the guise of treatment, having been ostracized by their
families and communities. I was very much encouraged by the leadership
assumed by the National Children's Institute, together with UNICEF, to
address this problem. In my report I will look forward to further cooperation
from the Government of Angola and UNICEF in light of recommendations I will
be submitting in my report. I do however note that further human rights
education is required, together with a strengthening of the criminal justice
system, to bring to justice those who abuse children.
e) The closure of four mosques in Luanda by the police in
January 2006 amounted to unlawful interference with the right to freedom of
worship. Whilst I note with satisfaction that the mosques concerned were able
to reopen of their own accord by the end of 2006, no Government official I
spoke to was able to present a specific legal order for the closures.
Furthermore a number of religious communities were severely restricted by the
authorities in the exercise of their freedom of religion or belief in
Cabinda. In some cases violence, threats and intimidation were also used by
the Government.
f) I am obliged to the Government for providing access to
two immigration detention centres in Luanda and a further centre presently
under construction. At the first detention centre I visited, which contained
only five detainees, conditions were good but at the second conditions were
deplorable. Ninety five percent of the 165 persons detained there are
Muslims, without access to a chaplain or Imam, or religious books and their
dietary needs are not being met. There is an urgent need for consular access
to the detainees as well as access for UNHCR.
Finally, I should note that my present statement is only
designed to highlight some, but by no means all, of the issues and
recommendations which will be part of my final report, which I expect to
present to the Human Rights Council in March of next year."
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