April 01, 2009
NGO: European Centre for Law and Justice
4, Quai Koch 67000 Strasbourg France
April, 9 2009
Religious Freedom in Bhutan
I. LEGAL
FRAMEWORK
Constitutional and Other Legal Provisions
Bhutan's new Constitution was first introduced in 2005 by the former
monarch, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck.[i] His son Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
ratified the constitution in July of 2008, four months after Bhutan's first
parliamentary elections.[ii] This Constitution served as the law in Bhutan since
2005 through the end of the United States State Department reporting
period.[iii] "The country's legal system is based on customary law and Buddhist
precepts."[iv]
In the Constitution, Article 7 contains the most progressive constitutional
religious freedom provisions.[v] It provides for the freedom of thought,
conscience, and religion, and further requires that "[n]o person shall be
compelled to belong to another faith by means of coercion or inducement."[vi]
According to the Asian Centre for Human Rights, "[t]his effectively bans any
religious activity inside Bhutan as followers of any other faith could well be
prosecuted in the name of 'religious conversion' for teaching or propagating
their religions."[vii] As reported by the United States State Department, while
the constitution does not explicitly restrict proselytism, a Royal Government
decision does prohibit it:
The National Security Act (NSA) prohibits "words
either spoken or written, or by other means whatsoever, that promote or attempt
to promote, on grounds of religion, race, language, caste or community, or on
any other ground whatsoever, feelings of enmity or hatred between different
religious, racial or language groups or castes and communities." Violating the
NSA is punishable with up to 3 years' imprisonment although it is not clear that
the Government has enforced this provision of the act.[viii]
Although proselytism is restricted, Article 7 further defines political and
civil rights to include, inter alia, "the right to freedom of speech, opinion
and expression,"[ix] "the right to information,"[x] and "freedom of the
press."[xi] Article 7 also provides that citizens have freedom of peaceful
assembly and association, but not in "associations that are harmful to the peace
and unity of the country[.]"[xii] Additionally, Section 15 provides that all
citizens "shall not be discriminated against on the grounds of . . . religion."
However, the Constitution also provides that the State may restrict any of these
rights to promote several general national aspirations, including, inter alia,
the "unity and integrity of Bhutan," the "well-being of the nation," or to
prevent "incitement to an offence."[xiii]
Article 3 of the Constitution declares that Buddhism is the "spiritual
heritage of Bhutan" and that the government must promote that heritage.[xiv]
Some have observed that this may require non-Buddhists to promote Buddhism even
while they are prohibited from promoting their own beliefs.[xv] While Article 3
"ensures" the separation of church and politics,[xvi] it also appoints the King
of Bhutan as the "protector of all religions."[xvii] Article 3 further provides
that the King will appoint the spiritual leaders of the top monastic body, which
serves its function with the assistance of a high ranking civil servant.[xviii]
These bodies are funded by the State.[xix] Finally, the Constitution interferes
with the religious beliefs of political candidates and parties: Article 15, sec.
3 commands that "[c]andidates and political parties shall not resort to . . .
religion to incite voters for electoral gain."[xx]
II. RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
AND DISCRIMINATION IN BHUTAN
Christians comprise a very small minority in Bhutan. Christians, both
Protestant and Roman Catholic, combined with completely non-religious groups,
comprise less than 1% of the population. The majority of the country's
population—approximately seventy-five percent—practices Lamaistic Buddhism.[xxi]
The other approximate twenty-five percent practice Hinduism.[xxii] The annual
World Watch List for 2009 produced by Open Doors, which ranks "countries where
Christians suffer the greatest persecution," currently places Bhutan in eleventh
place.[xxiii] This is a marked improvement from the 2008 list, wherein Bhutan
ranked the fifth worst persecutor of Christians.[xxiv] However, despite
improvements, Bhutan remains a place of discrimination both socially and
institutionally:
Officially, the Christian faith does not exist in
Bhutan and Christians are not allowed to pray or celebrate in public. Openly,
Christians can meet as a family but not collectively with other Christian
families. Religious workers are denied visas to enter the country. Christian
children are accepted in schools, but some face discrimination if known to be a
Christian and they face the constant pressure to attend Buddhist religious
festivals. It is almost impossible for Christian students to get to university
level. For Christians with government jobs, discrimination is also an issue.
There have been cases of believers being deprived of promotion simply because of
their faith. The import of printed religious matter is banned, and only Buddhist
religious texts are allowed in the country. Persecution mainly comes from the
family, the community, and the monks who yield a strong influence in the
society. Cases of atrocities (i.e.[,] beatings) are sporadic.[xxv]
One specific example of persecution was reported on April 11, 2004, when
police raided three Protestant house churches in southern Bhutan following
Easter Sunday services.[xxvi] The police arrested no one, but they warned the
church members not to meet together, and the elders and pastors were told to
report daily to the police station.[xxvii] The police told the members that
their meetings constituted "terrorist activity."[xxviii] Starting in 2000,
Catholic churches experienced greater restrictions when the government outlawed
"public non-Buddhist religious services, and imprisoned those who violate the
law."[xxix]
Although no real societal pressure to practice Buddhism was reported in the
U.S. Department of State Human Rights Report of 2008, it was noted that "the
government required permission to build religious temples but rarely granted it
for non-Buddhist buildings. Followers of religions other than Buddhism and
Hinduism were free to worship in private homes but could not erect religious
buildings or congregate in public."[xxx] Moreover, there were allegations that
"the government permitted only Drukpa Kagyupa and Ningmapa Buddhist religious
teaching in schools. Some dissidents claimed that Buddhist prayer was compulsory
in all government-run schools; however, the government contended that Buddhist
teaching was permitted only in monastic schools and that religious teaching was
forbidden in other schools."[xxxi]
Bhutan has recently made efforts to demonstrate a lack of hostility toward
Christians, specifically missionaries. In February of 2009, the Education
Minister requested that Bibles for the World send five hundred teachers to
Bhutan to instruct students in English, Math, and Science.[xxxii] Improvements
in religious tolerance in the last year are credited in part to the new
constitution. Open Doors observed, "2008 was a year of major changes in Bhutan:
the first-ever elections for parliament were held; a new constitution which
guarantees more religious liberty was implemented[,] and a new king was
crowned."[xxxiii] According to one Bhutan news source, various young converts to
Christianity claim that the level of hostility they have experienced is
minimal.[xxxiv] Most of these converts claim that their families objected
initially but came to accept their decision and that any persecution "does not
come from the government" but from "mid-level officials" with "personal
prejudices"; they are "really experiencing no major difficulties . . . ."[xxxv]
This article cited the Bhutan's history of Christianity, the newly ratified
constitution, and the parliamentary elections as the reasons behind the lack of
severe governmental religious persecution in Bhutan.[xxxvi]
[i] Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook, Bhutan [hereinafter, The
World Factbook],
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/bt.html (last
visited Mar. 30, 2009).
[ii] Id.
[iii] See U.S. Dep't of State, International Religious Freedom Report 2008,
Bhutan (2008) [hereinafter 2008 int'l religious freedom Report], available at
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108367.htm. The Constitution was
not fully ratified until after the end of the State Department's reporting
period. Id.
[iv] Id.
[v] Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan , art. 7, available at
http://www.constitution.bt/TsaThrim%20Eng%20(A5).pdf.
[vi] Id. art 7, § 4.
[vii] Asian Centre for Human Rights, South Asia Human Rights Index 2008, 58
[hereinafter, Asian Center for Human Rights], available at
http://www.achrweb.org/reports/SAARC-2008.pdf.
[viii] U.S. Dep't of State, 2008 Human Rights Report: Bhutan, § II,
Legal/Policy Framework [hereinafter 2008 Human Rights Report: Bhutan], available
at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90227.htm; see also National Security
Act of Bhutan, 1992 § 9(a), available at
http://www.oag.gov.bt/images/acts/National%20Security%20Act.pdf.
[ix] Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan, supra note NOTEREF _Ref227081736
\h 5, at art. 7, § 2.
[x] Id. § 3.
[xi] Id. § 5.
[xii] Id. § 12.
[xiii] Id. § 22. Section 22 is quoted in full below:
Notwithstanding the rights conferred by this Constitution, nothing in this
Article shall prevent the State from subjecting reasonable restriction by law,
when it concerns:
(a) The interests of the sovereignty, security, unity
and integrity of Bhutan;
(b) The interests of peace, stability and well-being
of the nation;
(c) The interests of family friendly relations with
foreign States;
(d) Incitement to an offence on the grounds of race,
sex, language, religion or region;
(e) The disclosure of information received in regard
to the affairs of the State or in discharge of official duties;
or
(f) The rights and freedom of others.
Id.
[xiv] Id. art. 3, §§ 1, 3 (emphasis added).
[xv] Asian Center for Human Rights, supra note NOTEREF _Ref227062345 \h 7.
[xvi] Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan, supra note NOTEREF
_Ref227081736 \h 5, art. 3, § 3.
[xvii] Id. art. 3, § 2.
[xviii] Id. art. 3, §§ 4–6.
[xix] Id. art. 3, § 7.
[xx] Id. art. 15, § 3.
[xxi] The World Factbook, Bhutan, supra note 1. See also 2008 int'l religious
freedom Report, supra note NOTEREF _Ref227086319 \h 3, Sec. I.
[xxii] Id.
[xxiii] Open Doors, World Watch 2009: The Countries Where Christians Suffer
the Greatest Persecution, 2, available at
http://www.opendoorsusa.org/UserFiles/File/Open%20Doors%20World%20Watch%20List%202009.pdf
(last visited Mar. 30, 2009).
[xxiv] Press Release, Open Doors, N. Korea Top Persecutor Again (Feb. 3,
2009) available at http://www.opendoorsusa.org/content/view/916/139/ (last
visited Mar. 30, 2009).
[xxv] Open Doors, supra note 23, at 11.
[xxvi] Bhutan: House Churches Raided After Easter Services, Compass Direct
News, Apr. 23, 2004,
http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?age=news&idelement=3024&lang=en&length=short&
backpage=archives&critere=bhutan&countryname=&rowcur=0
(last visited April 7, 2009).
[xxvii] Id.
[xxviii] Id.
[xxix] Id.
[xxx] 2008 Human Rights Report: Bhutan, supra note NOTEREF _Ref227086720 \h
8, § II, Restrictions on Religious Freedom, available at
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90227.htm.
[xxxi] Id.
[xxxii] Bhutan Invites Christian Leaders, APFNews.com, Apr. 2, 2009,
http://www.apfanews.com/stories/bhutan-invites-christian-teachers/.
[xxxiii] Id. Other forms of persecution in Bhutan continue, however: the
government expelled over 100,000 ethnic Nepalese and Hindu practitioners during
the 1980s and 1990s; as of 2008, none of these stateless refugees has been
granted reentry into Bhutan. Human Rights Watch, Bhutan's ethnic cleansing, Jan.
31, 2008, available at
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/01/31/bhutans-ethnic-cleansing (last visited
Apr. 2, 2009).
[xxxiv] Gyalsten K Dorji, Bhutan: Christians in Bhutan, Kuensel Online, Feb.
14, 2009,
http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=11988 (last
visited Apr. 3, 2009).
[xxxv] Id.
[xxxvi] Id.
