Humanists criticise Afghanistan and Pakistan for failing to recognise non-religious citizens

Humanists UK has criticised Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mauritania, and the Maldives over their nationality laws that exclude recognition of the non-religious. It did so through delivering a statement to the UN Human Rights Council. The intervention, delivered during an interactive dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, welcomed his report on discrimination in nationality laws while highlighting gaps in protection for people targeted because of their non-religious or minority religious beliefs. It also highlighted the need for greater awareness of how these laws can push people into hiding or force them into statelessness, leaving them especially vulnerable to human rights abuses.

The intervention was delivered via video by Humanists UK representative Ella Edwards. Responding to the Special Rapporteur’s report, she said:

‘The prevalence of discriminatory nationality laws that undermine the rights of the non-religious and of religious minorities is well-documented. In Mauritania and the Maldives, converting away from Islam can result in the loss of citizenship rights. In Pakistan, religious affiliation is mandatory on national identification documents, but there is no option to declare “no religion”. In Afghanistan, non-religious citizens report lying on identity documents to avoid persecution. In each of these countries, either blasphemy or apostasy – and in some cases both – are capital offences.

‘Together, these laws force the non-religious to conceal their beliefs to avoid detection and persecution, which underestimates the true scale of the discrimination they face.’

Humanists UK concluded by emphasising that urgent action is needed to make sure the non-religious and individuals from religious minorities are fully protected under nationality laws, and called on the international community to close these gaps to uphold equality and human rights worldwide.