A/HRC/61/50/Add.1 12. As a dualist country, ratification of international treaties does not lead to immediate incorporation into Zambian domestic law but requires transformation or incorporation through Parliament. 13. Zambia reports regularly to the relevant human rights mechanisms. Issues pertaining to the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief were raised in the fourth universal periodic review of Zambia, in January 2023. Zambia extended a standing invitation to the special procedures of the Human Rights Council in July 2008, and six mandate holders, including the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, have visited since then. 14. There have been 21 communications from special procedures to Zambia (between 2010 and 2025) on themes such as the killing and dismemberment of persons with albinism, concerns about law reforms, the narrowing of civic space and harassment of the political opposition, and arrests of those in same-sex relationships. The Government of Zambia has replied to three of these communications. IV. National laws, policies, institutions and practices 15. The Constitution of Zambia of 1991 has been amended several times: in 1996, 2009 and 2016. According to Amendment Act No. 2 of 2016, Zambian laws are derived from the Constitution, parliamentary acts and statutory instruments, from Zambian customary law (consistent with the Constitution) and from laws and statutes which apply or extend to Zambia.8 16. Since international instruments are not self-executing, individuals cannot use a ratified international instrument to enforce those rights. The current Constitution makes no reference to the status of international law in the Zambian legal system.9 Section 12 of the Ratification of International Agreements Act of 2016 provides the rules for domestication of international agreements. 17. Zambia operates with a dual legal system: a formal system based on British common law, and a traditional system rooted in customary practices, governed by tribal chiefs. The State has maintained that statutory law will prevail where there is a conflict with customary law, yet the Special Rapporteur heard concerns, which concurred with concerns expressed by the Human Rights Committee, that customary law is more likely to be applied in matters of family and personal relations, namely adoption, marriage, divorce, burial and the devolution of property upon death. Dual legal systems require proper and updated rules governing conflict of laws in order to prevent negative impacts on people’s right to judicial remedy and to effective access to justice.10 18. The operative part of the Constitution does not declare a national religion, and many insist that the country remains a secular nation. However, the preamble to the 2016 amendment to the Constitution states: “We, the people of Zambia, acknowledge the supremacy of God Almighty, [and] declare the Republic a Christian Nation while upholding a person’s right to freedom of conscience, belief or religion”. It also upholds “the human rights and fundamental freedoms of every person”. Furthermore, it recognizes and upholds “the multi-ethnic, multiracial, multi-religious and multicultural character” of the nation – which is also affirmed in article 4 (3) of the Constitution. 19. Article 19 of the Constitution addresses the protection of freedom of conscience. Though couched negatively, and using the term “except with his own consent”, the scope given to thought, conscience and religion matches the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including with regard to the freedom to change one’s religion or belief; additionally, article 19 specifies a right to “propagate” one’s religion or belief. Despite strong constitutional protection, this has not cascaded further to fundamental policies or laws. 8 9 10 4 United Nations country team submission for the universal periodic review of Zambia, July 2022. Ibid. Ibid. GE.26-02761