7 organisations américaines exhortent le gouvernement à accorder la priorité à la liberté religieuse et à la persécution des minorités religieuses au Soudan

7 organisations américaines exhortent le gouvernement à accorder la priorité à la liberté religieuse et à la persécution des minorités religieuses au Soudan

Assez de projet || Par assez d'équipe || 29 juin 2017

Dans un lettre conjointe, sept organisations américaines ont exhorté le secrétaire d'État Rex Tillerson à examiner les questions relatives à la liberté religieuse et à la persécution des minorités religieuses au Soudan dans le cadre de tout examen stratégique relatif à la politique américaine.

Les signataires, qui comprennent des groupes religieux et des groupes de défense des droits de l'homme, mettent en garde contre la discrimination, la détention, la violence et la destruction des églises par le régime de Khartoum. Ceux qui vivent dans des zones de conflit comme le Kordofan méridional et le Nil Bleu sont particulièrement vulnérables aux persécutions religieuses, qui sert de mécanisme pour diviser les communautés et exercer le contrôle de l'État, avertissent les groupes.

Les signataires sont les suivants : Projet suffisant; Commission de l ' éthique et de la liberté religieuse de la Convention baptiste du Sud; Fondation pour la défense des démocraties; Association nationale des évangéliques; Samaritans Purse; Fonds soudanais de secours; et Initiative soudanaise pour les droits de l ' homme.

Lire la lettre complète ci-dessous

29 juin 2017

L'honorable Rex Wayne Tillerson
Secrétaire d'État
Département d'État américain
2201, rue C NW
Washington, DC 20520

Cher Secrétaire Tillerson,

Étant donné que le Département d'État s'attache actuellement à analyser les actions du Gouvernement soudanais et l'avenir de la politique américaine, nous vous invitons à examiner les questions relatives à la liberté religieuse et à la persécution des minorités religieuses au Soudan dans le cadre de tout examen stratégique relatif à la politique américaine.

Une minorité importante de Soudanais ne suit pas l'école d'Islam approuvée par l'État. Ce groupe comprend les musulmans chiites, les musulmans quarans, diverses confessions chrétiennes et les adeptes des religions traditionnelles dans les districts du mont Nouba, à Kordofan, et dans les parties les plus méridionales du Nil Bleu. Soudan Les lois discriminatoires restreignent les libertés des groupes minoritaires et les privent de leurs droits constitutionnels.

La Constitution soudanaise garantit la liberté de culte et d'établissement et d'entretien des lieux de culte. Toutefois, la réalité est que les membres des groupes religieux et ethniques minoritaires sont victimes de discrimination et de harcèlement. En particulier, ceux qui vivent dans des zones de conflit principalement au Kordofan méridional et au Nil Bleu sont particulièrement vulnérables à la discrimination fondée sur la religion en tant que mécanisme de fragmentation entre les groupes et exercent ainsi le contrôle de l ' État.

Le Soudan a été désigné pays particulièrement préoccupant par le département d'État américain depuis 1999, la Commission américaine sur la liberté religieuse internationale recommandant que le Soudan reste sur la liste dans son examen de 2016. Cette question critique de la liberté religieuse doit être abordée dans la politique des États-Unis, et nous exhortons le Département d ' État à prendre conscience de cette question en ce qui concerne ses rapports actuels et à créer un nouvel engagement avec le Gouvernement soudanais axé sur les questions de paix et de droits de l ' homme, qui traite pleinement de la conduite du Gouvernement soudanais en ce qui concerne la liberté religieuse et la persécution des minorités religieuses.

Nous avons mis en lumière un certain nombre de domaines de préoccupation liés à la liberté religieuse et à la persécution, ainsi que les mesures que le Gouvernement soudanais doit prendre :

Liberté de culte

En février 2017, le gouvernement soudanais a publié un décret administratif pour la démolition ou la saisie de 27 églises dans l'État de Khartoum. Le décret était justifié par des «irrégularités de construction». Cependant, il suit une tendance à la destruction par l'État des lieux de culte chrétiens et au harcèlement des chefs religieux. Une affaire conjointe a été introduite par les églises qui devaient être démolies, mais la démolition des églises a commencé avant même que le verdict ait été rendu officiellement et un recours a pu être formé.

On April 4, 2017, a church elder, Mr. Yonan Abdullah, was killed after being stabbed during a raid on the Sudanese Evangelical Church School, one of the churches that had been identified for demolition. Members of the congregation had been holding a peaceful gathering in protest against attempts to evict them, following an earlier raid where members of the police had beaten the congregation with water pipes and arrested 26 people.

Many of the churches cited for demolition in the decree are well established and have been in use for up to 30 years. There is no possibility of the demolished churches being replaced since in July 2014, Sudan’s Minister for Religious Guidance and Endowments announced that the government would no longer issue permits for the building of new churches, stating that existing churches were sufficient for the Christian population living in Sudan following the secession of South Sudan in 2011. Since it is also illegal to assemble in public without permission from the government, the restrictions have the effect of preventing Sudanese Christians from congregating to worship.

Apostasy

Article 126 of the Sudanese Criminal Code specifies that any Muslim who declares publicly that she or he adopts any religion other than Islam is guilty of apostasy, a crime punishable by death. In 2014, Meriam Ibrahim was charged with apostasy and sentenced to death by hanging for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. Ms. Ibrahim was only released under extensive international pressure, after giving birth in prison without access to proper medical treatment.

Even after so much international attention on this case, the Sudanese authorities have continued to charge individuals with apostasy, often using it as a means of intimidation and control. For example, Mohamed Salih, a secular political activist, made a request to the Civil Registry to have his stated religion removed from his identification papers. On May 8, 2017, Mr. Salih was arrested for apostasy, facing a potential death sentence. He was held for 3 days and after substantial coverage of his arrest in Sudan he was announced mentally unfit and released, a decision that was made without a full and independent health assessment.

Despite repeated recommendations from members of the international community for the abolition of the apostasy law, in February 2015 the Sudanese parliament broadened the definition of apostasy under Article 126. A charge of apostasy can now be brought against Muslims whose beliefs and practices are not in line with the government interpretation of Islam.

Detention and harassment

Individuals who have criticized the government’s destruction of places of worship have been subjected to harassment. For example, the head of Sudan’s Council of Churches, Reverend Mubarak Hamad, called on Sudanese authorities to reconsider their decision to demolish churches during a press conference on February 11, 2017. He was subsequently summoned to report to the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) offices from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on a daily basis until the order was lifted on February 26, 2017. Reverend Hamad has been ordered not to speak in public about the church demolitions or the imprisonment of church leaders without authorization.

Arrests and forced detentions are often used to silence criticism of the Sudanese government’s treatment of religious minority groups. In January 2017, Hydier Alsfai, Secretary General of the Republican Party, and his wife Huda Kambal, Head of the Republican Party’s Women’s Committee, were ordered to report to NISS daily, where they were subjected to up to 11 hours of interrogation about their religious beliefs and affiliations to the Republican Movement – a banned religious group. Their detention coincided with the anniversary of the movement’s founder Mohammed Taha, who was sentenced to death by hanging and executed for apostasy on January 18, 1985. Members of the Republican Movement have historically commemorated this date with peaceful protest, but nonetheless face legal harassment and reprisals every year.

Charitable and humanitarian institutions with religious affiliations

The NGO Act controls and restricts NGO activity resulting in excessive executive control over the work of NGOs. All funding must be approved by the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) and foreign funding must be approved by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs. This constitutes an unreasonable interference in the activities of religiously affiliated NGOs and donors by the Executive. It is also practically unworkable.

While using legal restrictions to stifle charitable organization that are not affiliated with the version of Islam endorsed by the regime, the government goes to exceptional length to grant special privileges and protections to charitable organizations that are affiliated with the ruling Islamist movement. The Islamic Daawa Organization Act (1990) allows the Islamic Daawa Organization immunities and privileges which are not granted to other non-Muslim bodies, including preventing anyone from entering its headquarters unless they have previously obtained written permission from the organization’s executive director or his designee. In addition, the organization’s buildings and real estate are not subject to nationalization, seizure or search, except with its consent and the organization’s archives, correspondence, and parcels are immune from being searched, opened or confiscated except with the permission of the organization.

Due process

Defendants in cases related to freedom of religion are usually tried by public order courts where due process is not adhered to, including the right to a lawyer and a fair trial. These courts do not meet Sudanese or international fair trial standards. Defendants are often tried immediately or within a few days of being arrested. Judges issue summary rulings and defendants are often flogged on the spot and are frequently denied the right to appeal the decision. Defendants have limited access to defense counsel. In many cases contact with friends or relatives is prevented. Judges also do not inform the accused about the appeals process.

Moving forward

International pressure can be successfully deployed to address religious freedom and persecution in Sudan. In March 2017, a European Union envoy for freedom of religion and belief visited Sudan. During this time, the envoy met with Petr Jezek, a Czech Priest who had recently been released from prison following a presidential pardon. Rev. Jezek had been arrested along with Rev. Hasan Abd Al-Rahim and Mr Abd Al-Mawla in December 2015 and January 2016. They were convicted on charges of ‘inciting hatred between sects’ and ‘propagating false news’, after they provided funds for medical treatment to a Darfuri student who had been seriously injured during student protests in 2013. During its visit, the European envoy joined international calls for the release of Rev. Hasan Abd Al-Rahim and Mr. Abd Al-Mawla, and both were subsequently pardoned in May 2017.

A new policy track between the U.S. and Sudan should be created related to peace and human rights that could help ensure that fundamental rights are being addressed. Targeted network sanctions, focused on those officials most responsible for religious discrimination plus their businesses and collaborators, should be deployed in support of this track. Furthermore, no decision should be reached on permanently lifting sanctions on Sudan until the Sudan government takes the following actions:

Amend Sudan’s laws, including the Public Order Law, Personal Status Law and Criminal Law, so that they comply with Article 27 a, b and c of the Constitution, and with Sudan’s international human rights obligations.

Repeal Article 126 of the Sudanese Criminal Law, on apostasy, to bring it in line with international law regarding the freedom to change one’s religion.

Guarantee freedom of association, freedom of assembly and freedom of expression for all Sudanese citizens and residents, and to take measures to actively protect those rights for minority groups, in accordance with international human rights law.

Cease and investigate the widespread practices of intimidation and harassment of non-Muslims, and recognize in law the right to freely express one’s religion privately and in public.

Cease the demolition of churches and provide adequate protection where they are in danger of being subject to violence. Also abolish limitations placed on the construction of new places of worship.

Remove travel restrictions placed on Sudanese and foreign religious officials.

Revise the Organization of Prisoners and Treatment of Inmates Act (1992), so that any early release is not applied in a discriminatory manner.

We are hopeful that the State Department will consider the actions of the Sudanese Government related to religious freedom as it currently focuses on determining U.S. policy toward Sudan and ensures that until these issues are fully addressed that the United States is using all the tools at its disposal to press for fundamental change in the regime’s practices.

Sincerely,

Enough Project

Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

Foundation for Defense of Democracies

National Association of Evangelicals

Samaritains Purse

Sudan Relief Fund

Sudanese Human Rights Initiative

Source: Enough Project…