Overview:

• Recognition and registration are amalgamated rather than ideally differentiated; a focus is placed on legal registration.

• There is a vertical recognition system in place that ranges from religious groups down to simple associations, the latter of which is the only option for groups that do not meet the “religious group” threshold; simply associations are not validated to hold religious services which demonstrates government involvement that violates the Durham principles on religious freedom.

• The government should not discriminate between local religious organisations and those of foreign origins.

• The rule of mandatory registration violates the Bielefeldt provision.

• Ongoing discrimination of the Muslim community and violence directed at church facilities are signs that there is a lack of acceptance of the diversity of religious belief in the country which needs to be resolved through the use of recognition and more sophisticated levels of religious education.

Positive elements:

• Nil.

Recommendations:

• Establish provisions for existential recognition.

• Revoke existent restrictive policies in the recognition system and remove all forms of discrimination in registration process.

• To be classified dynamic, the government would need to establish a recognition agency to manage its recognition system; following its establishment and the appointment of a board of directors, the government would need to relinquish its involvement in the agency.