Khartoum, 23 July, 2021 / 7:45 pm (ACI Africa).
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based human rights organization, which specializes in religious freedom all over the world, is calling for transparency in the legal procedures involved in the construction of places of worship in Sudan.
The Founder President of CSW, Mervyn Thomas, acknowledges the reversal of a previous decision to deny the Orthodox Church in Sudan to build a place of worship on its own land, but goes ahead to demand clarity in legal processes involving legalization of places of worship in the Northeast African country.
“CSW welcomes the reversal of the legally questionable and discriminatory decision to deny the Orthodox Church the right to build on its own land. However, we remain concerned by the lack of a clear process for the registration and construction of churches,” Mr. Mervyn says in a Thursday, July 22 report.
In an earlier report, the organization had reported that the Orthodox Church in Sudan had been refused permission to build a place for worship on land it owns in Hay-Elrawda, Omdurman in Sudan’s capital Khartoum.
According to CSW, the decision to refuse permission was made by Sudan’s Urban Planning Department, which allegedly claimed that the land was only authorized for residential purposes.