Matrix Report
Since the world has witnessed innumerable, often tragic conflicts on the basis of religious radicalism, an unending struggle for religious liberty has been going on for centuries. Freedom of religion was codified in numerous international treaties, declarations and conventions in the twentieth century. The United Nations recognized the importance of freedom of religion or belief in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Universal Declaration), Article 18 of which states “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have a religion or whatever belief of his [her] choice.” Similar provisions can be found in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Civil and Political Covenant), as well as other regional and specialized human rights instruments. But unfortunately, we still see governments harassing, arresting, threatening, jailing, and killing individuals simply for seeking to live their lives in accordance with their beliefs in many places around the world.
International Religious Freedom Act:
Being a major power and one of the world’s biggest democracies, US is staunchly committed to advocate for freedom of religion or belief for all and in every country and has adopted the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 – which declares it to be U.S. policy to: (1) condemn violations of religious freedom, and to promote, and to assist other governments in the promotion of, the fundamental right to freedom of religion; and (2) seek to channel U.S. security and development assistance to governments that are found not to be engaged in gross violations of the right to freedom of religion. In this regard, United States Department of State is assigned to identify governments and non-state actors, who merit designation under the International Religious Freedom Act due to their religious freedom violations.
According to a recent report the US State department has identified a list of countries under three main categories:
- Countries engaged in systematic violation of religious freedom:
These are the countries of particular concern for having engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.” Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Eritrea, Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan are the countries mentioned in this category.
- Countries engaged in severe violation of religious freedom:
The report placed Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua on a Special Watch List for engaging in and toleration severe violations of religious freedom.
- Organizations of Particular Concern:
Al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, and the Taliban were designated as the entities of particular concern for having played a significant role in the promotion of religious extremism across the globe.
The US state department pledged to continue to press all governments across the globe to remedy shortcomings in their laws and practices, and to promote accountability for those responsible for abuses, and also restated US’ commitment to work with governments, civil society organizations, and members of religious communities to advance religious freedom around the world and address the plight of individuals and communities facing abuse, harassment, and discrimination on account of what they believe, or what they do not believe.
Concern for Pakistan?
The report has raised serious concerns for Pakistan, as India is no where to be seen in any of the categories specified in the report. Which shows that Pakistan’s neighbor has been successful in portraying its soft image in front of the world by adopting values of global significance including respecting the right of religious freedom for all citizens. This doesn’t only justify India’s claim of being a secular state but also has improved India’s global recognition. It is high time for Pakistan to learn for its next-door neighbor and make large-scale efforts to envisage the value of religious freedom in its policy network, as only by adopting modern values can Pakistan become able to improve its global standing.
