A/HRC/61/50/Add.1 64. Despite this clear societal presence and role of religious actors, or maybe because of it, many asserted that there was a “tug of war” between State and church. Church leaders at the national and provincial levels reported being regularly chastized for going beyond their remit, and being expected to remain silent on matters concerning their followers and congregations, such as poverty, misuse of funds or poor infrastructure. They saw it as part of their responsibility to their congregations to raise such matters. It was reported to the Special Rapporteur that religious leaders were pressured by political representatives not to refer to social matters in their sermons and always to maintain a positive discourse about the Government. 65. In a number of incidents where church authorities had criticized the Government’s handling of human rights and governance matters, 43 escalating tensions had been experienced. Incidents shared with the Special Rapporteur included the summoning of a priest in April 2024 for “interviews”, apparently on account of a critical sermon on matters such as the high cost of living, power outages and youth unemployment;44 police disrupting a private meeting between a bishop and a former President in May 2024;45 the supporting by a ruling party of an invasion by youths in August 2024 of the offices and radio station of Mpika Diocese; 46 and armed police stopping clergy and laypeople from entering their cathedral for a mass in October 2024.47 Some of the critical views on governance are issued publicly and come from multiple church bodies, while also calling for dialogue, reconciliation and unity.48 66. Others have also called for better understandings to be struck between the authorities and the churches. 67. At a meeting of the National Day of Prayer and Fasting Organizing Committee, the Vice-President urged churches to stop strongly supporting political parties, including her own United Party for National Development. She emphasized the importance of churches maintaining their neutrality in the country’s political affairs, saying that churches were composed of members of different political parties and that taking a partisan stance could lead to divisions and mistrust among congregants.49 She also called on churches to work with the government of the day, regardless of political affiliations. 68. Following the visit to Zambia of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) issued a statement welcoming her observations and noting that “the disruption of religious gatherings and the temporary closure of some churches infringe upon freedom of conscience” and that these “not only significantly challenge and threaten freedom of expression but also democracy and development”.50 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 12 See, for example, https://web.archive.org/web/20240809164054/https://caritaszambia.org/phocadownload/general/Cath olic-Commission-For-Integral-Human-Development-Caritas-Press-Statement.pdf, https://web.archive.org/web/20250313083441/https://caritaszambia.org/phocadownload/general/Carit as-Statement-On-Cyber-Security-Bills.pdf and https://web.archive.org/web/20250313075025/https://caritaszambia.org/phocadownload/general/Joint -Civil-Society-Statement-on-Cyber-Security-Cyber-Crime-and-Anti-Terrorism-Bills.pdf. See https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/08/zambian-police-summon-priest-after-critical-sermon. See https://cruxnow.com/church-in-africa/2024/05/zambia-police-disruption-of-bishop-meetingformer-president-fuels-controversy. See https://cisanewsafrica.com/2024/08/zambia-suspected-ruling-party-goons-storm-mpika-diocesanoffices-harass-staff-and-disrupt-operations-of-radio-station/. See https://www.lusakatimes.com/2024/10/28/catholic-church-protests-systemic-state-intimidationagainst-worship-rights-in-zambia/. See https://caritaszambia.org/phocadownload/general/three-church-mother-bodies-speakout-onpolitical-landscape.pdf. See https://www.ovp.gov.zm/?p=8308. See https://www.lusakatimes.com/2025/02/12/jctr-urges-government-to-safeguard-freedom-ofexpression/. GE.26-02761