‘Zim values religious freedom’ 

Source: ‘Zim values religious freedom’ – herald

Farirai Machivenyika

Senior Reporter

ZIMBABWE’S Constitution values freedom of conscience and religion, among other rights, Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda has said.

The Speaker said this in his address to the second Inter-Parliamentary Union Interfaith Dialogue in Rome, Italy organised by the IPU, Italian Parliament and the Religions of Peace last week.

The dialogue is running under the theme: “Strengthening trust and embracing hope for our common future”.

“Zimbabwe’s Constitution of 2013, enacted by the Parliament of Zimbabwe, in article 60, elevates freedom of conscience, religion, thought and belief as a fundamental right, creating what legal scholars dub a “positive liberty framework”, one that not merely prohibits interference, but actively anchors religious expression.

“This constitutional provision guarantees every citizen “the right to freedom of religion and belief, including the right to practice, propagate, and give expression to their faith or belief.

“Thus, this provision recognises the communal and evangelical dimensions that give many faiths their standing,” Advocate Mudenda said.

The Speaker added that in Section 56, the Constitution fortifies the prohibition of discrimination based on religion or belief.

He said the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission buttresses religious freedom and its attendant tenets.

“That is why Zimbabwe is a proud signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights whose Article 18 proclaims that ‘everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion’ apart from the ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” he said.

The Speaker said Zimbabwe has also acceded to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights whose Article 8 protects freedom of conscience and religion grounded on African values and traditions of the Ubuntu philosophy.”

“That is why Zimbabwe is an interfaith country that is inclusive of all lawful religious persuasions under the banner of the Ecumenical Zimbabwe Council of Churches. Accordingly, there is no hatred based on religion or belief in Zimbabwe, which canvasses polarisation, dehumanisation or weaponisation of religion or belief,” he added.