Five years after it abolished Hinduism as the state religion, Nepal is working on a new criminal code forbidding a person from one faith to “convert a person or abet him to change his religion.”
Article 160 of the proposed code also says no one will be allowed to do anything or behave in any way that could cause a person from a caste, community or creed to lose faith in his/her traditional religion or convert to a different religion. The proposal would also prohibit conversion “by offering inducements or without inducement,” and preaching “a different religion or faith with any other intent.”
If found guilty, offenders could be imprisoned for a maximum of five years and fined up to 50,000 Nepalese rupees. If the offender is a foreigner, he or she would be deported within seven days of completing the sentence. Nepal’s Christian community, which has no representation in the Council of Ministers or in parliament, was caught unaware of the new criminal law in the offing. Nepal’s law and justice ministry, in consultation with judges and legal officers, drafted the new Criminal Code that, once approved by parliament, would make proclaiming Christ a punishable offense. The bill was approved by the Council of Ministers and then introduced in parliament on May 15 by Law and Justice Minister.
According to the parliament secretariat, it will be discussed by the house and then sent to the body’s Legislative Committee. If the committee approves the bill, it would return to parliament and, following further discussion, would go to the president for final approval.
Nepal’s Interim Constitution of 2007 prohibits proselytizing, even though Nepal signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1991. Article 18 of the ICCPR includes the right to manifest one’s religion, which U.N. officials have interpreted as the right to evangelistic and missionary activities.
Source: www.compassdirect.org
Republished in new layout 7/4/2013
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