Kuwait
(2004)
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion;
however, the Government places some limits on this right. The Constitution
also provides that the State protect the freedom to practice religion
in accordance with established customs, provided that it does not conflict
with public policy or morals. The Constitution states that Islam is
the state religion and that Shari'a (Islamic law) is a main source of
legislation.
There was some improvement in the status of respect for religious freedom
during the period covered by this report. The Government approved some
long-standing Shi'a requests for reform, including the establishment
of an independent Shi'a waqf (endowment) and Shi'a court of cassation
(Supreme Court) to handle Shi'a personal status and family law cases.
The Prime Minister met separately with the various religious groups
and political groups in the country to combat religious extremism and
promote religious tolerance. An Apostolic Nunciature, based in the country,
continued to represent Vatican interests in the region.
The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed
to religious freedom.
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government
as part of its overall policy to promote human rights.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has a total area of 6,880 square miles, and its population
is 2.5 million. Of the country's total population, approximately 1.6
million are Muslim, including the vast majority of its approximately
913,000 citizens. The remainder of the total population consists of
approximately 1.5 million foreign workers and tens of thousands of Bidoon
(officially stateless) Arabs with residence ties to the country but
who either have no documentation of or are unwilling to disclose their
nationality. While the national census does not distinguish between
Sunni and Shi'a adherents, the majority of citizens, including the ruling
family, belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. The total Sunni Muslim
population is well over 1 million, approximately 600,000 of whom are
citizens. The remaining 30 to 35 percent of Muslim citizens (approximately
300,000 to 350,000) are Shi'a, as are approximately 100,000 noncitizen
residents. Estimates of the nominal Christian population range from
250,000 to 500,000 (including approximately 200 citizens, most of whom
belong to 12 large families).
The Christian community includes the Roman Catholic Church, with 2 official
churches and a third worship facility in a rented house in which religious
services are held, and an estimated 100,000 members (Latin, Maronite,
Coptic Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Malabar, and Malankara congregations
all worship at the Catholic cathedral in Kuwait City); the Greek Catholic
Church, with approximately 2,000 members (Greek Catholics worship in
a rented house, not at the Catholic cathedral in Kuwait City); the Anglican
(Episcopalian) Church, with approximately 115 members (several thousand
other Christians also use the Anglican Church for worship services);
the National Evangelical Church (Protestant), with 3 main congregations
(Arabic, English, and Malayalee) and approximately 20,000 members (several
other Christian denominations also worship at the National Evangelical
Church compound); the Greek Orthodox Church (referred to in Arabic as
the Roman Orthodox Church, a reference to the Eastern Roman Empire of
Byzantium), with 3,500 members; the Armenian Orthodox Church, with approximately
4,000 members; and the Coptic Orthodox Church, with an estimated 65,000
members.
There are many other unrecognized Christian denominations in the country,
totaling tens of thousands of members. These denominations include Seventh-day
Adventists, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons),
Marthoma, and the Indian Orthodox Syrian Church.
There are also communities of Hindus (estimated 130,000 adherents),
Sikhs (estimated 40,000), Baha'is (estimated 400), and Buddhists (no
statistics available).
Missionary groups in the country serve non-Muslim congregations. The
Government prohibits proselytizing by non-Muslims.
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, the Government
places some limits on this right. The Constitution also provides that
the State protect the freedom to practice religion in accordance with
established customs, provided that it does not conflict with public
policy or morals. The Constitution states that Islam is the state religion
and that Shari'a is a main source of legislation. The Government observes
Islamic holidays.
The 1961 Press and Publications Law specifically prohibits the publication
of any material that attacks religions or incites persons to commit
crimes, create hatred, or spread dissention among the public. There
are laws against blasphemy, apostasy, and proselytizing. These laws
sometimes have been used to restrict religious freedom.
The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has official responsibility
for overseeing religious groups. Officially recognized churches must
deal with a variety of government entities, including the Ministry of
Social Affairs and Labor (for visas and residence permits for pastors
and other staff) and the Municipality of Kuwait (for building permits
and land issues). While there reportedly is no official government list
of recognized churches, seven Christian churches have at least some
form of official recognition that enables them to operate openly. These
seven churches have open files at the Ministry of Social Affairs and
Labor, allowing them to bring in pastors and staff to operate their
churches.
Four denominations are widely understood to enjoy full recognition by
the Government and are allowed to operate compounds officially designated
as churches: the Roman Catholic Church, Coptic Orthodox Church, Anglican
Church, and National Evangelical (Protestant) Church. However, they
face quotas on the number of clergy and staff they can bring in to the
country, and their existing facilities are inadequate to serve their
respective communities.
The Greek Catholic Church has an open file at the Ministry of Social
Affairs and Labor, but Greek Catholics worship in a rented house (two
other Indian Catholic denominations also use the house for worship services).
The Greek Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox churches reportedly are allowed
to operate openly, hire employees, invite religious speakers, and conduct
other such activities without government interference; however, according
to government records, their facilities are registered only as private
homes. For example, the Armenian Orthodox Church rents a private house
from a citizen and uses it for worship services and other religious
purposes. No other churches or religions have legal status, but adherents
generally are allowed to operate freely in private homes provided that
they do not violate laws against assembly or proselytizing.
The procedures for registration and licensing of religious groups appear
to be connected to those for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In
1993, the Council of Ministers ordered all unlicensed NGOs to cease
activities, but this order has never been enforced. There are hundreds
of unlicensed, informal NGOs, clubs, and civic groups in the country.
Since 1985, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor has issued only
six new NGO licenses. As of May, there were approximately 200 NGO applications
pending with the Ministry.
There were reports that in the last few years at least two groups applied
for permission to build their own churches, but the Government had not
responded to their requests at the end of the period covered by this
report.
In 2001, the Government announced that all unlicensed branches of Islamic
charities would be closed by the end of 2002. During the period covered
by this report, the Government removed a large number of unlicensed
street-side charity boxes. In 2002, the Acting Minister of Social Affairs
and Labor issued a ministerial decree to create a charitable organizations
department within the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. The department
is responsible for regulating religious charities based in the country
by reviewing their applications for registration and monitoring their
operations. All charitable contributions of licensed Islamic charities
in the country now require Central Bank approval.
The Higher Advisory Committee on Completion of the Application of Islamic
Shari'a Provisions, created by an Amiri Decree in 1991, is tasked with
preparing society for the full implementation of Shari'a (Islamic law)
in all fields. The Committee makes recommendations to the Amir on ways
in which current laws can be brought into better conformity with Islamic
Shari'a, but it has no authority to enforce such changes. The Committee
reviewed laws during the year related to the Penal Code and the Banking
Code. At present the Constitution says Shari'a is a main source of legislation,
but some Islamists would like to amend that to the main source.
The following religious holidays are considered national holidays: Eid
al-Adha, Islamic New Year, Prophet's Birthday, and Eid al-Fitr.
The Government requires Islamic religious instruction in public schools
for all students.
The Government has not taken any reported steps to promote interfaith
understanding through the support or sponsorship of official programs
to coordinate interfaith dialogue; however, the Prime Minister met separately
with the leading Muslim sects and political groupings in early 2004
to denounce religious extremism and promote religious tolerance.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
Shi'a are free to worship according to their faith without government
interference, and the overall situation for Shi'a improved somewhat
during the period covered by this report. However, members of the Shi'a
community have expressed concern about the relative scarcity of Shi'a
mosques due to the Government's slow approval of the construction of
new mosques and the repair of existing ones. (There are approximately
30 Shi'a mosques compared with approximately 1,200 Sunni mosques in
the country.) Since 2000, the Government has granted licenses for and
has approved the construction of four new Shi'a mosques. All four mosques
reportedly are still under construction.
There are approximately 600 Shi'a husseiniyas in the country, approximately
500 of which are informal or unlicensed.
Family law in the country is administered through religious courts.
The Government permits Shi'a to follow their own jurisprudence in matters
of personal status and family law at the first-instance and appellate
levels. In 2003, the Government approved a long-standing Shi'a request
to establish a Shi'a court of cassation (Supreme Court) to handle Shi'a
personal status and family law cases at the highest judicial level.
However, the court has not yet been established because there are no
Shi'a (Ja'fari) judges for this level of prosecution. In November 2003,
the Government publicly announced its approval of another long-standing
Shi'a request for the establishment of an independent Shi'a (Ja'fari)
waqf, an agency to administer religious endowments in accordance with
the Shi'a Ja'fari school of jurisprudence.
Shi'a who aspire to serve as imams are forced to seek appropriate training
and education abroad (mainly in Iraq and Iran), due to the lack of Shi'a
jurisprudence courses at Kuwait University's College of Islamic Law
(Faculty of Shari'a), which only offers Sunni jurisprudence. The Ministry
of Education is reviewing a Shi'a application to establish a private
college to train Shi'a clerics within the country.
Shi'a remain under-represented in upper levels of government. Five Shi'a
were elected to the 50-seat National Assembly in 2003, compared to 6
Shi'a in the previous assembly. Only Information Minister Muhammad Abdallah
Abbas Abulhasan was a Shi'a. There were no Shi'a in the Kuwait State
Security (KSS) forces.
The Roman Catholic, Anglican, National Evangelical, Greek Orthodox,
Armenian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, and Greek Catholic churches operate
freely on their premises and hold worship services without government
interference. Their leaders also state that the Government generally
is supportive of their presence, even providing police security and
traffic control as needed. Other Christian denominations (including
Mormons, Seventh-day Adventists, Marthoma, and Indian Orthodox) are
not recognized legally but are allowed to operate in private homes or
in the facilities of recognized churches. Members of these congregations
have reported that they are able to worship without government interference,
provided they do not disturb their neighbors and do not violate laws
regarding assembly and proselytizing.
Members of religions not sanctioned in the Koran, such as Hindus, Sikhs,
Baha'is, and Buddhists, may not build official places of worship since
these religions lack legal status, but they are allowed to worship privately
in their homes without government interference.
In 2002, after mounting pressure from country residents in the district
of Salwa, the Government ordered the closure of a Sikh gurudwara, or
temple. Sikhs who had worshipped there were able to worship at another
Sikh temple. The closed house temple later was allowed to reopen. During
the period covered by this report, there were no reported closures of
other Sikh house temples. The Sikh community generally was able to worship
freely and engage in other religious activities, including public marriage
and other celebrations, without government interference.
In 2003, the Government reportedly closed the file on the National Evangelical
Church (NEC) due to the NEC's alleged failure to comply with the National
Manpower Support Law by employing the requisite number of country nationals.
As of May, the Government had reinstated the NEC's open file status,
and the Church was able to apply for and renew visas for pastors and
staff; however, in accordance with the National Manpower Support Law,
the Government imposed substantial annual fines for every visa applied
for or renewed on behalf of noncitizen staff, in addition to routine
visa and residency fees. Church leaders were negotiating with government
authorities to resolve the fine issue and exempt the Church from the
law's Kuwaitization requirements. As of June, the issue remained unresolved.
The Government prohibits missionaries from proselytizing to Muslims;
however, they may serve non-Muslim congregations. The law prohibits
organized religious education for religions other than Islam, although
this law is not enforced rigidly. Informal religious instruction occurs
inside private homes and on church compounds without government interference;
however, there were reports that government inspectors from the Ministry
of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs periodically visited public and private
schools outside of church compounds to ensure that religious teaching
other than Islam did not take place. During the period covered by this
report, the Government still had not responded to the request from the
Roman Catholic Church that Catholic students be allowed to study the
catechism separately during the period in which Muslim students receive
mandatory instruction in Islam.
The Roman Catholic Church faces severe overcrowding at its two official
church facilities. Its cathedral in downtown Kuwait City regularly draws
tens of thousands of worshippers to its more than 20 weekly services
in several languages. Due to limited space on the compound, the Church
is unable to construct any new buildings. The National Evangelical Church,
which serves a weekly average of 20,000 worshippers in approximately
60 congregations, is also overcrowded. The Church is seeking approximately
15 to 20 acres of new land to alleviate overcrowding and petitioned
the Government for additional land during the period covered by this
report. As of June, the Government had not responded to the Church's
request.
The Coptic Orthodox Church also faces challenges, such as overcrowding
at its small compound in Kuwait City and restrictions on assembly and
religious teaching; however, it is able to operate openly without interference
from government authorities. In 2002 the Government notified the Coptic
Orthodox Church of its intention to reacquire the parcel of land on
which the church is located for a road expansion project. During the
period covered by this report, the Government granted the Coptic Orthodox
Church 6,500 square meters of new land in Hawally district to build
a new place of worship; the Church had only requested 5,000 square meters.
The Government has not offered any financial assistance to construct
a new church, but municipal authorities provided a written commitment,
in response to a church request, that it would not force the Church
to vacate its current premises until a new facility was available. No
date has yet been set for the church's relocation.
The Government does not permit the establishment of non-Islamic publishing
companies or training institutions for clergy. Nevertheless, several
churches publish religious materials for use solely by their congregations.
Further, some churches, in the privacy of their compounds, provide informal
instruction to individuals interested in joining the clergy.
A private company, the Book House Company Ltd., is permitted to import
a significant number of Bibles and other Christian religious material,
including videotapes and compact discs, for use solely by the congregations
of the country's recognized churches. The Book House Company Ltd. is
the only bookstore that has an import license to bring in such materials,
which also require approval by government censors. There have been reports
of customs officials confiscating non-Islamic religious materials from
private citizens upon their arrival at the airport. In 2003, police
arrested five foreign workers for allegedly proselytizing with Bibles
in Andalus district. State security officials later released the individuals
on condition that they sign commitments pledging to refrain from proselytizing.
The Islam Presentation Committee (IPC), under the authority of the Ministry
of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, actively encouraged proselytizing to non-Muslims.
The IPC maintained an office at the Central Prison to provide religious
education and information to inmates. In late 2003, the IPC established
the NGO AWARE to promote awareness of Islam and understanding of Arab
and Islamic culture and provide training courses to foreigners.
Although there is a small community of approximately 200 Christian citizens,
a 1980 law prohibits the naturalization of non-Muslims; however, citizens
who were Christians before 1980 (and children born to families of such
citizens since that date) are allowed to transmit their citizenship
to their children.
The law forbids marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men. A
non-Muslim female is not required by law to convert to Islam to marry
a Muslim male. In practice many non-Muslim women face strong economic
and societal pressure to convert. Failure to convert may mean that,
should the couple later divorce, the Muslim father would be granted
custody of any children. A non-Muslim woman who fails to convert also
is ineligible to inherit her husband's property or to be naturalized.
Women continue to experience legal and social discrimination. In the
family courts, one man's testimony is sometimes given the same weight
as the testimony of two women; however, in the civil, criminal, and
administrative courts, the testimony of women and men is considered
equally. Unmarried women 21 years of age or older are free to obtain
a passport and travel abroad without permission of a male relative;
however, a married woman must obtain her husband's permission to apply
for or renew a passport. Once she has a passport, a married woman does
not need her husband's permission to travel, but he may prevent her
departure from the country by placing a 24-hour travel ban on her through
immigration authorities. After this 24-hour period, a court order is
required if the husband still wishes to prevent his wife from leaving
the country. In practice, however, many travel bans are issued without
court order, effectively preventing citizens and foreigners from departing.
All minor children (under age 21) require their father's permission
to travel outside the country. This also applies to children born to
citizen fathers and noncitizen mothers, who are regarded as citizens
and must be raised as Muslims.
Inheritance is governed by Islamic law, which differs according to the
branch of Islam. In the absence of a direct male heir, Shi'a women may
inherit all property, while Sunni women inherit only a portion, with
the balance divided among brothers, uncles, and male cousins of the
deceased.
During the period covered by this report, there were no reports of the
Government prohibiting state employees from displaying or practicing
any elements of their faith. However, in late 2003, the headmistress
of a public high school in Farwaniya district reportedly dismissed several
female students for failure to wear the hijab, or headscarf. The school
readmitted the students and the headmistress was criticized widely in
the local media.
The law requires jail terms for journalists who defame religion. Academic
freedom is limited in practice by self-censorship, and academics, like
journalists, are legally prohibited from criticizing Islam. The law
also provides that any Muslim citizen may file criminal charges against
an author if the citizen believes that the author has defamed Islam,
the ruling family, or public morals. Unlike in previous years, there
were no reports during the period covered by this report of Islamists
using these laws to threaten writers with prosecution for publishing
opinions deemed insufficiently observant of Islamic norms, or of religiously
based prosecutions of authors or journalists.
In January the Court of Misdemeanor sentenced a Shi'a citizen to 1 year
in jail with hard labor and fined him approximately $3,500 (1,000 KD)
for producing and distributing an audiotape defaming the Islamic (Sunni)
religion, degrading its rituals and rites, and defaming and abusing
the Prophet Mohammed's Companions. In February the citizen reportedly
was released from prison in error by an Amiri Pardon issued on the occasion
of the country's National Day. The Government subsequently issued a
warrant for his arrest, but he reportedly remained at large. In March
the Appeals Court dismissed the original misdemeanor verdict and referred
the citizen's case to the Public Prosecutor for re-trial by the Criminal
Court. The citizen now also faces more serious charges of violating
the State Security Law. On May 18, the Criminal Court sentenced Al Habib
to 10 years in jail in absentia for defaming (Sunni) Islam. Most Shi'a
believe that hard-line Sunni Islamist pressure is behind the Government's
harsh action against Al Habib, even though they too have publicly condemned
his anti-Sunni statements and the audiocassette incident.
During the period covered by this report, Sunni Islamist members of
the National Assembly's Education, Culture, and Guidance Committee proposed
separating an article in the Press and Publications Law governing the
penalties for blasphemy and other crimes that defame religion into two
distinct articles--one outlining the penalties for blasphemy and disparagement
of messengers, prophets, angels, and the Holy Koran; and the other specifying
affronting the Prophet Mohammed's Companions and wives as a separate
offense (i.e., specifically criminalizing Shi'a disparagement of Sunni
religious belief). As of May, the committee had not yet issued a final
decision on the issue.
The Ministry of Interior, General Customs Department, arrested several
individuals for allegedly practicing sorcery and confiscated alleged
sorcery-related materials during the period covered by this report.
The Government does not designate religion on passports or national
identity documents.
There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees.
Forced Religious Conversion
There were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of minor
U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the United
States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens to be returned to the
United States. There have been cases in which U.S. citizen children
have been abducted from the United States and not allowed to return
under the law; however, there were no reports that such children were
forced to convert to Islam, or that forced conversion was the reason
that they were not allowed to return to the United States.
Abuses by Terrorist Organizations
There were no reported abuses targeted at specific religions by terrorist
organizations during the period covered by this report.
Improvements and Positive Developments in Respect for Religious Freedom
The overall situation for Shi'a improved during the period covered by
this report. In October, the Government approved a long-standing Shi'a
request to establish a Shi'a court of cassation (Supreme Court) to handle
Shi'a personal status and family law cases. The Government already allows
Shi'a to follow their own Ja'fari jurisprudence in matters of personal
status at the first instance and appellate levels. In November, the
Government publicly announced its approval of another long-standing
Shi'a request for the establishment of an independent Shi'a (Ja'fari)
waqf (endowment), supervised by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs,
to govern the use of funds for Shi'a charitable and religious purposes.
This year for the first time, the Government permitted Shi'a to stage
a public reenactment of the Battle of Karbala depicting the martyrdom
of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson. Kuwait TV, also for
the first time, broadcast programs on the Shi'a religious holiday of
Ashoura.
The Ministry of Education continued to review a Shi'a proposal to establish
a private college to train Shi'a clerics within the country; however,
at the end of the period covered by this report, no action had been
taken on the proposal. In April, the Council of Ministers (Cabinet)
decided to subsume the Faculty of Shari'a at Kuwait University (which
teaches only Sunni jurisprudence) into the Faculty of Law. Due to strong
opposition by Islamist parliamentarians and other Islamist groups, the
Government initiated a review of the proposal. As of May, the merger
of the two faculties, which would in effect dilute the influence of
the Faculty of Shari'a, had not been implemented.
Thousands of Bohras (Shi'a Muslims mainly from Gujarat in western India
who trace their spiritual ancestry to conversion to Islam in the 11th
century) were permitted to worship freely and assemble in their own
husseiniya (Shi'a community center), where social and religious functions
typically are held. During the period covered by this report, their
spiritual leader based in India, Syedna Mohammed Burhanudin, visited
the country and met with high-level government officials.
An Apostolic Nuncio accredited to the country and also to Bahrain, Qatar,
and Yemen is resident in Kuwait City. The Catholic Church views the
Government's 2001 agreement to upgrade to full diplomatic relations
with the Vatican as significant in terms of government tolerance of
Christianity.
The Ministry of Education announced its intention to combat religious
intolerance by clarifying the concept of jihad in school curriculums;
this initiative encountered strong condemnation from some Islamist members
of parliament. During the period covered by this report, the Ministry
removed teachers thought to be Islamic extremists but did not make any
reported changes to school curricula.
The new assertiveness of Shi'a in Iraq since the fall of the Saddam
Hussein regime has encouraged Shi'a, who comprise approximately a third
of the citizen population, to raise their profile. As a result, Sunni
Islamist extremists have become more stridently hostile toward Shi'a
practices. During the period covered by this report, the Prime Minister
met separately with the various Muslim groups and political groupings
in the country in an attempt to alleviate sectarian tensions and combat
extremism.
There was some interfaith dialogue among Christian denominations during
the period covered by this report. The Government did not take any reported
steps to promote interfaith understanding, with the exception of the
Prime Minister's separate meetings with Shi'a and various Sunni groups
to promote greater religious tolerance.
Sunni Islamist groups pressed the Government to tighten restrictions
on public concerts and other cultural events that they believed violated
Shari'a principles. In April, the Ministry of Information approved the
licensing of a popular Arab music concert, Star Academy, despite strong
opposition from Sunni Islamist parliamentarians and other Islamist groups
who condemned it as immoral.
Section III. Societal Attitudes
In general there are amicable relations among the various religious
communities, and citizens generally are open and tolerant of other religions;
however, there is a small minority of ultraconservatives opposed to
the presence of non-Muslim groups.
While some discrimination based on religion reportedly occurs on a personal
level, most observers agree that it is not widespread. There is a perception
among some domestic employees and other members of the unskilled labor
force, particularly Southeast Asian nationals, that they would receive
better treatment from employers as well as from society as a whole if
they converted to Islam; however, others do not see conversion to Islam
as a factor in this regard.
The conversion of Muslims to other religions is forbidden. While such
conversions reportedly have occurred, they have been done quietly and
discreetly. Known converts face harassment, including loss of job, repeated
summonses to police stations, verbal abuse, police monitoring of their
activities, arbitrary detention, and imposition of travel bans and fines
without due process.
The liberation of Iraq's Shi'a majority has increased the assertiveness
of Shi'a in the country, who achieved some important gains period against
institutionalized discrimination during the period covered by this report.
Some hard-line Sunni Islamist extremists became more outwardly hostile
towards Shi'a religious practices and distributed virulently anti-Shi'a
leaflets outside Sunni mosques during the period covered by this report.
Sunni Islamist parliamentarians repeatedly threatened to question liberal
Shi'a Information Minister Abulhassan (the only Shi'a in the 16-member
Cabinet) for permitting immoral concerts and other programs deemed offensive
to Islam. Many Shi'a believe the harsh sentence imposed against Shi'a
activist Yasser Al-Habib, who disparaged Sunni religious belief in an
audiocassette in December 2003, was a result of hard-line Sunni Islamist
pressure. To prevent an escalation in sectarian tensions and demonstrate
the Government's commitment to religious freedom, the Prime Minister
met separately with the various religious and political groups during
the year to promote religious tolerance and combat extremism.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with the Government
in the context of its overall policy to promote human rights.
Intensive monitoring of religious freedom issues has long been an Embassy
priority. U.S. Embassy officials meet frequently with recognized Sunni,
Shi'a, and Christian groups, as well as representatives of various unrecognized
faiths and NGOs that deal with religious freedom issues. Such meetings
have afforded Embassy officials the opportunity to learn the status
and concerns of religious groups, and to monitor progress on religious
freedom.
The Embassy actively encourages the Government to address the concerns
of religious leaders, such as overcrowding, lack of adequate worship
space, insufficient staffing, and bureaucratic delays in processing
routine requests. During the period covered by this report, the Embassy
met with senior representatives from the major recognized Christian
denominations in the country, encouraged them to present their concerns
in a unified manner to the Government, and advocated on their behalf
in high-level meetings with government officials.
Sources: U.S. State Department - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |