Going beyond complacency required to uphold freedom of religion or belief in Zambia: United Nations (UN) expert

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Complacency regarding freedom of religion or belief is holding Zambia back from progressing this freedom further, for all, and on an equal basis throughout the country, a UN expert said today.

“Zambians are rightly proud of their country, its openness and their alignment with Ubuntu, cordiality and connectedness,” the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Nazila Ghanea, said in a statement at the end of a 12-day visit to the country.

“The scope of freedom of religion or belief in jurisprudence, national processes and practices, and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief have been narrowly understood and applied,” she said. “Constitutional provisions upholding freedom of religion or belief could yield much stronger protections than have been litigated in Zambia thus far.”

Ghanea said that a number of implications flow from this – insufficient consideration of reasonable accommodation on the basis of religion or belief, sharper consideration of positive obligations towards advancing freedom of religion or belief, and some blind spots regarding indirect discrimination on the basis of religion or belief.

According to international human rights norms, “the Christian majority in the Zambian population heightens the need to report on how the practices of others are protected and non-discrimination against their followers ensured,” the expert said. “This is because, in such contexts, uniform or equal treatment in law, practices and processes will result in instances of indirect discrimination against others. Measures of reasonable accommodation are required to redress this,” she said.

“Inclusive national messages and statements by senior officials are highly significant in setting the tone for inclusion of all Zambians,” the expert said.

The Special Rapporteur held meetings with Government officials and agencies in Lusaka. She also met with members of Parliament, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, prosecutors, police authorities, civil society organisations, representatives of religion or belief communities and faith-based actors, and with the Human Rights Commission of Zambia and the Law Development Commission. In Chipata and Livingstone, she met with provincial and district authorities and departments, the provincial offices of the Human Rights Commission and representatives of religion or belief communities and civil society.

The expert will present a full report on her visit to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2026.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

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