Overview:

• Although the new Sudanese government has made strides in terms of religious freedom for the last year or so, the three decade long repression suffered under the prior regime continues to have widespread and entrenched social, cultural and political effect in the country that only time and continued efforts toward freedom will begin heal; for this reason, Sudan is still considered under the Spectrum of Religious Recognition a censorious country rather than any higher classification because it is considered to take more time to see the effects of changes to legislation in the society; various issues continue in the Sudanese recognition system.

• The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowment would ideally be regulated by a recognition agency independent of government or else itself merges into an independent recognition agency.

• Areas such as zoning concerns and permits for new places of worship need to be monitored to ensure they are not misused by the government to restrict religious activity.

Positive elements:

• Although with significant changes still to be made, the Sudanese system continues to suffer from major internal issues.

• Reversal of the apostasy law is a positive step for Sudan to leave behind it terminal classification.

Recommendations:

• Establish a recognition system that can provide both existential recognition and legal registration for all belief systems and groups regardless of their affiliation.

• Establish a recognition agency to manage the recognition system autonomously from state authorities.