A cross-denominational group of Protestant Christian leaders in Cuba have launched a campaign pushing for provisions guaranteeing freedom of religion to be included in the country’s updated constitution, according to religious freedom advocacy CSW.
The UK-based organisation said in a statement that the group, which is being led by representatives of the Methodist and Assemblies of God churches, are calling on Cubans to sign a petition calling for the addition of two sections to Article 15 to the nation’s constitution.
The proposed additions would require the Cuban Government to guarantee churches and religious institutions the freedom “to manifest their religion or belief and to do so individually and collectively, in public and in private, and the right to teach and practice the corresponding worship and to independently observe their principles and faith”. They would also forbid the government and its agencies from “interfering with the internal life of religious associations, and of creating organisations to control them”.
Following the approval of a draft version of an updated constitution by Ciuba’s National Assembly in July, the document is currently out for public consultation. It will go to a referendum next February when it is expected to be approved.
It has been suggested that if approved, the additions proposed by the Christian groups would offer religious freedom guarantees not seen in Cuba since before the 1959 revolution and would also require the abolishment of entities like the Office of Religious Affairs of the Cuban Communist Party, a body which activists have said is responsible for the majority of religious freedom violations in the country.
Mervyn Thomas, the chief executive of CSW, said the organisation welcomed the petition and “fully supports its calls for legal protections for freedom of religion or belief in Cuba”.
“We call on the Government of Cuba to include both proposed paragraphs in the new constitution and to abolish the Office of Religious Affairs so that people of all faiths and none are able to fully enjoy the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief,” he said.
