Having a place of worship has been described as an “integral” part of religious freedom at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The comment was made by the World Evangelical Alliance’s (WEA) Janet Epp Buckingham in her introductory address to the 5 March side event, ‘Registration and Legal Status of Places of Worship: Negative Impacts on Religious Minorities’.

The event, co-organised by the Anglican Communion, World Council of Churches, Open Doors International and Stefanus Alliance, also featured contributions from the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion of Belief [FoRB], Nazila Ghanea, and Susan Kerr from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Dr Buckingham noted that religious freedom, as defined by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, includes “the right to worship … as well as manifesting religion in public”, which “guarantees that believers have a fundamental human right to manifest their religion by communal worship”.

“It is core for that expression that believers have spaces to worship,” she added.

Without a recognised place of worship, Dr Buckingham noted that if communities “meet for worship anyway, it may be considered an illegal gathering” and “the leader may be charged or fined”. 

In Iran, as Article18 has reported on numerous occasions, both the leaders and members of house-churches – which proliferated because Christian converts are prohibited from attending the churches of the recognised Armenian and Assyrian Christian minorities – have faced charges of participating in “illegal gatherings”.

It was in light of this that Article18 launched the Place2Worship campaign, demanding that all Christians in Iran, including converts, be granted places where they can gather together to worship, free from fear of arrest.

Dr Ghanea noted that “national security” is “given as the grounds for many restrictions on individuals and communities because of their religion or belief” – as has been seen in many of the charges against Christians in Iran – but such a limitation, according to Dr Ghanea, is “not established in law”.

“The limitation grounds that are permitted under international human rights law that should very sparingly be applied do not contain … ‘national security’,” she said. 

Religion and belief minorities “should not be securitised”, as “freedom of religion or belief is not a matter that needs surveillance [or] harassment,” Dr Ghanea added. 

In some countries, the possibility of particular religious communities gathering has been “framed as a charitable concession” and “not a right”, the rapporteur said. But “freedom of religion or belief does not rest on recognition. It should be guaranteed; it’s the birthright of all of us.”

Having a place of worship “gives independence, reduces surveillance and harassment and acknowledges a level of societal acceptance”, Dr Ghanea added.

Dr Kerr agreed that “the legitimate aims used to limit freedom of religion or belief – for example, of ensuring public safety or order – should not serve as a cover for policies that disproportionately burden or discriminate against religious minorities.”

“Any limitations must be tailored narrowly and minority communities should not be singled out,” she said, adding that FoRB is “a fundamental human right” which “belongs to everyone”; “it doesn’t matter whether somebody holds unpopular or popular beliefs, majority or minority beliefs, traditional or non-traditional beliefs”.

“State permission is not needed and should not be a condition for the exercise of freedom of religion or belief,” Dr Kerr said. “This right cannot be made subject to registration or other similar procedures, as it belongs to human beings and communities as right holders. It doesn’t depend on official authorisation. This also means that any prohibition and/or sanctioning of unregistered activities that are essentially a free exercise of this right are incompatible with international standards.”

Dr Kerr noted that being able to gather together is “at the very core of a number of religious traditions”, and worship spaces are “often at the core of religious community life”. 

“The building and maintenance of appropriate places of worship,” she said, is therefore “of key importance to those who form part of religious communities”. 

Dr Kerr said that a lack of legal recognition – such as is the case for Iran’s Christian converts – “can leave minority communities in a vulnerable position where they have no legal recourse in the face of threats to their existence or assets. They may not be able to negotiate leases, open a bank account, or receive donations, which are all critical to their survival and ability to function as a community.”

Article18’s latest annual report noted how the finances of Christians in Iran have been targeted, with several arrests made last year as a result of suspicions that Christians had received funds from abroad. 

“Making financial donations, charitable offerings, or paying tithes to support church activities are standard practices for Christians worldwide, but such activities have been criminalised by Iran’s Revolutionary Courts,” the report noted. 

Dr Kerr added that legal recognition of religious groups is an issue that “goes beyond spaces [of worship]”, as it also “enables religious communities to manage their own affairs – from property to leadership, religious services and community activities … ensur[ing] that they can function independently without being vulnerable to arbitrary restrictions or shutdowns by a state.

“The importance of legal [recognition] for religious and belief communities, and particularly for minority communities, cannot be overstated,” she concluded. “[It] is not just a technical requirement. It is part of freedom of religion or belief that is needed to ensure that we live together and thrive together in peaceful and diverse societies.”

You can watch a recording of the event here.