U.S.
Department of State Human Rights Report 1998
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, the Government
restricts this right in practice. The Constitution provides for the
"freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice"
and Islam and Christianity are widely practiced and tolerated throughout
the country with persons free to worship at the church or mosque of
their choice. However, the Government persecuted members of the small
community of Jehovah's Witnesses continued. In 1994, the Government
revoked the trading licenses of members of Jehovah's Witnesses and
dismissed most of those who worked in the civil service. This governmental
action resulted in economic, employment, and travel difficulties for
members of Jehovah's Witnesses, especially former civil servants and
businessmen. One woman was denied a passport when, upon questioning
at immigration, she informed officials of her religious affiliation.
In April 1997, the Government Labor Office issued a form to all employers
in Asmara and the surrounding area requesting information on any personnel
who were members of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Members of Jehovah's Witnesses have refused universally on religious
grounds to participate in national service or vote in a referendum.
This spurred widespread criticism that the members were shirking their
civic duty. Although other individuals reportedly have been punished
for failure to participate, only members of Jehovah's Witnesses have
been subject to dismissal from the civil service, had their trading
licenses revoked, and been denied passports due to their refusal to
participate in national service. In addition to these measures, members
of Jehovah's Witnesses also are denied identification cards, trading
licenses, and government housing universally, unless they hide their
religion. Several members of Jehovah's Witnesses were arrested for
failure to comply with the National Service Law and some were tried,
although there is no information available regarding the verdicts
or sentences in these cases. Four members of the Jehovah's Witnesses
have been detained without trial or charge for over four years. However,
members of Jehovah's Witnesses are not barred from meeting in private
homes.
The Government has banned religious organizations from involvement
in politics. The Government has discouraged foreign religious groups
and nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) from proselytizing, as it
believes that this could create unnecessary friction in the delicate
balance between the Muslim and Christian populations. In a 1995 proclamation,
it described specific guidelines on the role of religion and religion-
affiliated NGO's in development and government, stating that development,
politics, and public administration are the sole responsibility of
the Government and citizens. As a result, religious organizations
may fund, but not initiate or implement development projects. The
proclamation also sets out rules governing relations between religious
organizations and foreign sponsors. In May the Government shut down
the health clinic of a Presbyterian Church and refused to renew the
visas of foreign church members, effectively ending the mission work
of the church. The Government restricts the right of the religious
media to comment on politics or government policies (see Section 2.a.).
Authorities informed the Catholic Church in April that all Catholic
schools would be incorporated into the public school system. At the
time, it was not made clear whether the clerical authorities would
continue to administer the curriculum with government oversight or
whether the school faculty would be absorbed into the Ministry of
Education. However, no action was taken to implement this initiative
because of the outbreak of the border conflict with Ethiopia. In January
religiously affiliated organizations were prohibited from running
kindergartens.
Source: Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices for 1998, U.S. Department of State.
* Each
report will open a new window. The 2000 report opens as PDF file.
Use table of contents on the left side of the window to choose the
country you wish to view.
Archives
| 1997
| 1998 | 1999
| 2000
| 2001 |
