Djibouti

Djibouti is a small country located on the horn of Africa and bordered by Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.

The Republic of Djibouti is a semi-presidential system in which legislative power is shared between the executive branch and parliament, the National Assembly.[ref]https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/DJI#pos1[/ref] The President of Djibouti, Ismael Omar Guelleh, has been in office since 1999. While elections are held regularly for the presidency and national assembly, the government uses authoritarian means to limit the influence of opposition, including denying recognition to opposition parties or pursuing spurious criminal charges against opposition figures.[ref]https://freedomhouse.org/country/djibouti/freedom-world/2021[/ref]

Around 97% of the population identifies as Sunni Muslim. Citizens are officially considered Muslims if they do not specifically identify with a faith; there are consequently no figures available on the number of atheists in the country.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/djibouti/[/ref]

Constitution and government Education and children’s rights Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
Systemic religious privilege results in significant social discrimination
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
Religious control over family law or legislation on moral matters
Expression of core humanist principles on democracy, freedom or human rights is severely restricted
There is an established church or state religion
Official symbolic deference to religion
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Constitution and government
There is an established church or state religion
Official symbolic deference to religion
Education and children’s rights
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Family, community, society, religious courts and tribunals
Systemic religious privilege results in significant social discrimination
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
Religious control over family law or legislation on moral matters
Freedom of expression advocacy of humanist values
Expression of core humanist principles on democracy, freedom or human rights is severely restricted
Use of Conscientious Objection clauses resulting in the denial of lawful services to women and LGBTI+ people
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in all or most state-funded schools with no secular or humanist alternative
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: Kazakhstan

The state is secular, with separation of religious and political authorities, not discriminating against any religion or belief
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report
No fundamental restrictions on freedom of expression or advocacy of humanist values
Insufficient information or detail not included in this report

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

No condition holds in this strand
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: Andorra

No condition holds in this strand
Religious courts or tribunals rule directly on some family or ‘moral’ matters; it is legally an opt-in system, but the possibility of social coercion is very clear
No condition holds in this strand

Countries: no countries relate to this boundary condition

Localised or infrequent but recurring and widespread social marginalisation or prejudice against the non-religious

This condition is unusual in that it is applied in cases where there is some social discrimination, but it is not pervasive or nationwide. This condition is applied when there is sufficient background evidence to warrant the assertion that discrimination is not anomalous but widespread, and this condition may be applied for example even where if there is no legislative discrimination or where the non-religious may have legal recourse against such discrimination. However, societal discrimination (i.e. discrimination by peers, as opposed to state or legal discrimination) is not easily measured, and for this reason the Report does not currently have similar more severe boundary conditions to capture higher levels of social discrimination per se. In principle these may be introduced in future. However, we consider that countries with actual higher levels of social discrimination against the non-religious will generally already meet other higher level (more severe) boundary conditions under this thematic strand.

Countries: Botswana, Greece, Serbia, United States of America

The dominant influence of religion in public life undermines the right to equality and/or non-discrimination

Applied when the influence of religion on public life undermines others’ rights, such as SRHR, women’s rights, LGBTI+ rights.

May be applied when the influence is overt (i.e. when religious laws are applied to undermine others’ rights) or covert (i.e. where religious pressure groups exert influence to affect policy)

Countries: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Croatia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Liberia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Oman, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zambia

The non-religious are persecuted socially or there are prohibitive social taboos against atheism, humanism or secularism
Complete tyranny precludes all freedoms of expression and thought, religion or belief

Applied when overriding acts of oppression by the State are extreme, to the extent that the question of freedom of thought and expression is almost redundant, because all human rights and freedoms are quashed by authorities.

Countries: North Korea

Expression of core Humanist principles on democracy, freedom and human rights is brutally repressed
Expression of non-religious views is severely persecuted, or is rendered almost impossible by severe social stigma, or is highly likely to be met with hatred or violence
There is significant social marginalisation of the non-religious or stigma associated with expressing atheism, humanism or secularism
Religious or ideological indoctrination is utterly pervasive in schools
There is a nominal state church with few privileges or progress is being made toward disestablishment

Countries: Bulgaria, Norway, Peru, Rwanda

The non-religious are barred from some government offices (including posts reserved for particular religions or sects)
‘Apostasy’ is outlawed and punishable with a prison sentence

Countries: Bahrain, Comoros, Jordan, Kuwait

‘Apostasy’ or conversion from a specific religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Some religious courts rule in civil or family matters on a coercive or discriminatory basis
Religious authorities have supreme authority over the state

Countries: Iran

State legislation is partly derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Preferential treatment is given to a religion or religion in general

This condition is applied where there are miscellaneous indicators that organs of the state offer various forms of support for a religion, or to religion in general over non-religious worldviews, suggesting a preference for those beliefs, or that the organs of that religion are privileged.

Countries: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burundi, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

There is a pattern of impunity or collusion in violence by non-state actors against the nonreligious
State-funded schools provide religious education which may be nominally comprehensive but is substantively biased or borderline confessional
Religious or ideological instruction in a significant number of schools is of a coercive fundamentalist or extremist variety

This condition highlights countries where schools subject children to fundamentalist religious instruction with no real opportunity to question fundamentalist tenets, or where lessons routinely encourage hatred (for example religious or ethnic hatred). The wording “significant number of schools” is not given a rigid quantification (sometimes the worst-offending schools are unregistered, illegal, or otherwise uncounted); however the condition is not applied in cases where only a small number of schools meet the description and may be anomalous, as opposed to being indicative of a widespread problem.

Countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia

State legislation is largely or entirely derived from religious law or by religious authorities
Anomalous discrimination by local or provincial authorities, or overseas territories
Religious or ideological instruction is mandatory in at least some public schools (without secular or humanist alternatives)
‘Blasphemy’ or criticism of religion is outlawed and punishable by death
Government figures or state agencies openly marginalize, harass, or incite hatred or violence against the non-religious
Government authorities push a socially conservative, religiously or ideologically inspired agenda, without regard to the rights of those with progressive views
It is illegal to advocate secularism or church-state separation, or such advocacy is suppressed
Prohibitive interreligious social control (including interreligious marriage bans)
Quasi-divine veneration of a ruling elite is enforced, or a single-party regime holds uncontested power, subject to severe punishment
Legal or constitutional provisions exclude non-religious views from freedom of belief
It is illegal to register an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization, or such groups are persecuted by authorities
There is a religious tax or tithing which is compulsory, or which is state-administered and discriminates by precluding non-religious groups
The non-religious are barred from holding government office
Some concerns about children's right to specifically religious freedom

This condition may apply if specifically religious education, religious materials, or specific religious denominations are so tightly controlled that children are in fact over-protected from exposure to religion and are likely unable to explore or construct their own worldview in accordance with their evolving capacities. This condition helps us to classify states (perhaps with secular constitutions) which have criminalized specifically religious beliefs or practices. This condition is not applied if the restricted beliefs or practices are found to be outlawed due to their being of an extremist variety. While this condition does not directly reflect discrimination against non-religious persons or non-religious ideas, it does represent an overall threat to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief; such restrictions could spill over to affect non-religious beliefs later; and they pose a risk of backlash against over-zealous secular authorities or even against non-religious individuals by association.

Countries: China, Congo, Democratic Republic of, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guyana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Laos, Madagascar, Mexico, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Tajikistan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe

It is illegal or unrecognised to identify as an atheist or as non-religious
It is made difficult to register or operate an explicitly Humanist, atheist, secularist or other non-religious NGO or other human rights organization
Legend
 
Severe Discrimination
Systemic Discrimination
Mostly Satisfactory
More information about rating table

Constitution and government

Islam is the State religion, according to Article 1 of the Constitution.[ref]https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Djibouti_2010.pdf?lang=en[/ref]

Although the Constitution and other laws and policies protect the right to freedom of religion or belief, and the right to freedom of expression, these rights are not always respected in practice.

The government is closely involved in administering and overseeing religious affairs in the country. The Ministry of Islamic and Cultural Affairs exercises authority over all Islamic matters and institutions, including mosques, religious events, and private Islamic schools. Imams are considered civil service employees of the Ministry. In 2014, the government passed a law – presented as a counter-extremism measure – requiring the transfer of all mosque properties to itself and requiring pre-approval of all Friday prayer service sermons.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/djibouti/; https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/DJI[/ref]

The president is required to take a religious oath at inauguration; other government employees are also required to do so, such as magistrates, the presidents of Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Chamber of Accounts, and the inspector general of state. While there is no penalty established by law, it remains an official custom written in the Constitution for the president of the country and required by law for others. No legal provision exists for non-religious oaths or affirmation.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/djibouti/[/ref]

Education and children’s rights

The state school system is secular. However, students are required to complete a civic and moral education course, based on Islam, in public schools across the country.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/djibouti/[/ref]

In addition, there are a number of private Islamic schools in operation in the country. These schools are jointly managed by the Ministry of Islamic and Cultural Affairs and the Ministry of Education. There are also separate religious schools which are administered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which follow a curriculum set by Saudi Arabian authorities.[ref]https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/djibouti/[/ref] Djibouti and Saudi Arabia have close ties, and the two countries cooperate closely on political, cultural and educational issues.[ref]https://www.arabnews.com/node/1704131/saudi-arabia[/ref]

Family, community and society

For matters of personal status, Muslims must go to family courts who apply elements of civil law (based on the French civil code) and Sharia law. Civil courts address the same matters for non-Muslims.[ref]https://beta.shariasource.com/documents/3066[/ref]
A non-Muslim man may marry a Muslim woman only after converting to Islam. According to the Family Code, “impediment to a marriage occurs when a Muslim woman marries a non-Muslim.”[ref]https://landwise.resourceequity.org/documents/908[/ref]

Gender-based discrimination

A number of provisions in the 2002 Family Code discriminate against women in family matters, through the application of Islamic law principles. For example, women have a right to inheritance, but in many cases receive less than men. Women can only file for divorce if they can provide evidence of injury, or if they renounce their financial rights. Polygamy is also permitted.[ref]https://landwise.resourceequity.org/documents/908; https://www.arabstates.undp.org/content/dam/rbas/doc/Gender%20Justice/English/Full%20reports/Djibouti%20Country%20Assessment%20-%20English-min.pdf[/ref] The Code also requires the obedience of wives to their husbands, stating that “the woman should respect the prerogatives of the husband as head of household and must obey him in the interest of the family.[ref]https://landwise.resourceequity.org/documents/908. In the original French: “La femme doit respecter les prérogatives du mari en tant que chef de famille et lui doit obéissance dans l’intérêt de la famille.”[/ref]

Even though traditional harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation are banned by the Family Code and the Criminal Code, according to UN Special Procedures, these practices continued and were “firmly entrenched in rural and nomadic communities.”[ref]See CERD/C/DJI/CO/1-2, para. 20.[/ref]

The Penal Code (2011) criminalizes abortion (Article 447-450) apart from where it is necessary for “therapeutic purposes” (a term which is undefined). A woman who attempts an ‘illegal’ abortion is liable to 5 months imprisonment and payment of a fine, while a physician or health professional who is found to regularly carry out abortions may be subject to up to 5 years imprisonment.[ref]https://www.arabstates.undp.org/content/dam/rbas/doc/Gender%20Justice/English/Full%20reports/Djibouti%20Country%20Assessment%20-%20English-min.pdf[/ref]

Freedom of expression, advocacy of humanist values

Although freedom of expression is protected by the constitution, all media sources in Djibouti, including newspapers, television stations, and radio, are owned and controlled completely by the state. Journalists and others who attempt to share independent news are harassed and punished.[ref]https://rsf.org/en/djibouti[/ref]

Open discussion of political matters is impeded by restrictive laws against defamation. The government reportedly monitors social media and conducts surveillance on perceived opponents.[ref]https://freedomhouse.org/country/djibouti/freedom-world/2020[/ref]

Freedoms of assembly and association are nominally protected under the Constitution, but are not respected in practice. Civil society organisations and activists in Djibouti experience frequent violations of their right to associate freely.[ref]https://monitor.civicus.org/country/djibouti/[/ref]