Oral Statement on the Right to FoRB

Organisation:Christian Solidarity Worldwide

UN Human Rights Council, 37th Session (26 February – 23 March 2018)

Agenda Item 3:ID with Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of religion or belief

Speaker: Claire Denman

Thank you Mr President.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) welcomes the work of the Special Rapporteur and shares the concerns outlined in his report. CSW wishes to emphasise that all States have an obligation under international law to protect and promote the right to freedom of religion or belief.

CSW urges the government of Eritrea to guarantee freedom of religion or belief, as outlined in Article 19 of its constitution and to facilitate all rights enshrined within it.

Since 2002, thousands of adherents of recognised and non-recognised faith groups have been detained without charge or trial, in life threatening conditions. CSW remains concerned for the welfare of Patriarch Antonios of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, under house arrest since 2007 and allegedly under pressure to resign and make way for a pro-government bishop. Board president of Al Diaa Islamic private School Haji Mussa, jailed since October 2017 for protesting government interference in its affairs died in detention on 1 March.

CSW calls on the government of Eritrea to release all who are arbitrarily detained, end the harassment of religious communities and cease undue interference in church affairs.

CSW is also concerned by a rise in members of minority faith communities receiving excessive sentences based on false national security charges in Iran from presiding judges notorious for issuing harsh sentences. Although Iran is party to international covenants that protect freedom of religion or belief, Christians, Baha’is, Sufi Dervishes and Sunni Muslims continue to be tortured, imprisoned and generally harassed on account of their faith.

CSW urges the government of Iran to respect the right to freedom of religion or belief and uphold the rule of law by ensuring free and fair trials for all citizens.

Additionally, CSW wishes to bring the situation in China to the Council’s attention. Both registered and unregistered church leaders have been personally and collectively penalised for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief, while large numbers of Uyghur Muslims, and individuals from other ethnic groups, are reportedly being held without charge in overcrowded re-education camps. In various parts of the country, authorities have partially or wholly demolished buildings used for religious worship or teaching, including Protestant and Catholic churches and Buddhist institutes, in the name of “renovating” or removing “illegal” structures.

CSW calls on China to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and extend protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief to all.

Thank you Mr President.