A/HRC/61/50/Add.1 of the major Christian churches and their mother bodies on constitutional change24 do not highlight the Christian nation statement. The three main Church mother bodies, namely the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia and the Council of Churches in Zambia, have publicly stated that the process should be transparent and not rushed, 25 and that addressing poverty and development-related issues is more important. 26 The Law Association of Zambia has also urged caution, 27 and civil society organizations, including Caritas Zambia,28 have called for the process to be postponed until after the election.29 B. Registration of religious communities 32. In accordance with the Societies Act, chapter 119, all religious communities, and their charitable or social arms, need to be registered by the Office of the Chief Registrar of Societies under the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security. They must also adhere to employment, criminal and other laws. The same Office can revoke registration. Non-registration can lead to fines and prison sentences of up to seven years. 30 The law provides for privileged tax treatment for public benefit organizations, including religious groups, provided they are established for the promotion of religion, education, or relief of poverty or other distress.31 33. To register, all religious groups in Zambia must align and affiliate with one of the existing administrative or umbrella bodies referred to as a mother body. The group must have a unique name, a recommendation letter from its mother body, a list of 10 members who are screened for any criminality and reviewed, and a document listing the clergy’s professional qualifications from a “recognized and reputable” theological school. Religious groups must pay a one-off fee of 3,000 kwacha ($120) to set up their registration and 100 kwacha ($4) every year to retain it.32 34. There are 15 “mother bodies” recognized in Zambia. The eight Christian bodies are the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Council of Churches in Zambia, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, the Independent Churches of Zambia, the Apostles Council of Churches, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Christian Missions in Many Lands and the New Apostolic Church. The seven other bodies are the Bahaʼi Faith in Zambia, and the bodies for Buddhists, Hindus (Hindu Association of Zambia), Jews (Jewish Board of Deputies Zambia, and Council for Zambia Jewry), Muslims (Islamic Supreme Council of Zambia, Lusaka Muslim Society and Makeni Islamic Society Trust), Rastafarians and Sikhs (Guru Nanak Council of Zambia). 35. The Special Rapporteur did not receive any complaints about these processes being overly onerous, and the online application system is responded to within 48 hours, which 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 GE.26-02761 Christian Churches Monitoring Group, Discussion paper on Constitution reform (not dated) pp. 3–5, available at https://ccmgzambia.org/download/discussion-paper-constitutionreform/?wpdmdl=1740&refresh=67dc3c6eab6881742486638. See https://www.zambiamonitor.com/church-bodies-fault-clandestine-moves-to-amend-constitutionwithout-public-consultations-call-for-national-dialogue/. See https://zambianobserver.com/address-poverty-not-constitution-church-mother-bodies-tell-hh/. See https://www.lusakatimes.com/2025/02/10/zambias-constitution-crossroads-laz-cautions-againstrushed-reforms/. See https://caritaszambia.org/phocadownload/general/Caritas-Statement-On-ConstitutionAmendment.pdf. See https://tizambia.org.zm/2025/03/civil-society-position-on-the-proposed-constitutionalamendment-process/. Ibid. Ibid. See https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-report-on-international-religious-freedom/zambia. 7