A/HRC/61/50/Add.1 Annex Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Nazila Ghanea, on her visit to Zambia I. Introduction 1. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Nazila Ghanea, reflects findings from her official visit to Zambia from 31 March to 11 April 2025. The visit took place at the invitation of the Government, and the Special Rapporteur would like to express her appreciation to the Government for having readily accepted her visit request, and to the Department of National Guidance and Religious Affairs of the Vice-President’s Office for its cooperation and coordination. 2. The Special Rapporteur held more than 35 meetings during the visit. These included meetings with the Vice-President of Zambia, the Minister of Education and the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, and with the Permanent Secretary of the Parliamentary Business, National Guidance and Religious Affairs Division of the Vice-President’s Office and the Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security and the Ministry of Education. There were also meetings with the Attorney General and representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the President of the Constitutional Court, the Acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and with the Chairs of the parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, Human Rights and Governance and Committee on National Guidance and Gender Matters. Meetings were also held with the Director of Public Prosecution, the Office of the Public Protector (Ombudsman), the Vice-Chair and representatives of the Zambia Law Development Commission, the Acting Registrar of Societies and the Director-General of the Human Rights Commission. In Chipata, Eastern Province, meetings took place with the Permanent Secretary of the Provincial Administration, with representatives of various provincial government departments, and with the provincial office of the Human Rights Commission. In Livingstone, Southern Province, meetings were held with the District Commissioner, with representatives of the District Health Office and with the provincial office of the Human Rights Commission. 3. The Special Rapporteur also held meetings with representatives of various religious communities and organizations, faith-based actors, members of civil society organizations, lawyers and academics across the three locations. In addition, she met with the resident coordinator and representatives of various United Nations entities in Lusaka, and with members of the diplomatic community. She is grateful to all these interlocutors at the national and municipal levels, governmental and non-governmental alike, for giving so generously of their time to share their expertise and insights around freedom of religion or belief. II. Political and historical context 4. Zambia, a landlocked State in south-central Africa, previously known as Northern Rhodesia, gained independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1964. The first President of the newly formed republic, Kenneth Kaunda, ruled for 27 years, and established the United National Independence Party, which ruled Zambia as a one-party State until 1991, when the Constitution was modified to allow a multiparty system, with several parties, including opposition parties, represented in government. It is stated in the Constitution that “a political party shall not be founded on a religious, linguistic, racial, ethnic, tribal, gender, sectoral or provincial basis or engage in propaganda based on any of these factors”.1 Some interlocutors raised concerns about emerging risks of alignment of political parties with religion. 1 2 See art. 60. GE.26-02761