Kesan ICERD pada agama; iktibar tiga negara

Oleh YUSFARIZAL YUSSOFF

INI jawapan saya terhadap hujah bahawa ICERD tidak memberi kesan kepada agama:-

Ada setengah pihak mengatakan ICERD tidak melibatkan 'diskriminasi' berdasarkan agama. Saya tidak pasti ia adalah hujah ilmiah atau karenah siyasah. Saya cenderung untuk bersangka baik. Pun begitu, ia langsung tidak benar.

Jawapan saya begini. Sebelum itu, saya mohon maaf kiranya tulisan ini bersifat 'teknikal'. Saya menulis untuk memberi faham. Saya cuba berlaku adil kepada semua khalayak:-

●    Benar ICERD tidak meletakkan "agama" dalam definisi diskriminasi kaum menurut Artikel 1(1) ICERD. Namun Artikel 5(d)(vii) ICERD mengiktiraf kebebasan pemikiran, kesedaran dan agama sebagai hak yang perlu diberi tanpa diskriminasi berasaskan kaum.

●     Perlu difahami bahawa definisi ini digubal pada sekitar tahun 1960-an. Ia tidak statik dari segi amalan dan konteks.

●     Dalam banyak keadaan dan konteks, agama adalah seiring dengan “asal etnik” atau “kaum”. Sebagaimana Malaysia, Melayu lazimnya Islam, kaum India lazimnya Hindu.

●     Artikel 160 Perlembagaan Persekutuan jelas mendefinisikan Melayu sebagai beragama Islam. Maka Melayu dan Islam berpisah tiada.

●     CERD adalah merupakan Jawatankuasa yang ditubuhkan menurut Artikel 8 ICERD yang mempunyai kuasa memantau dan menegur Negara ahli tentang isu diskriminasi kaum.

●     Walaupun definisi “agama” tidak dimasukkan secara tersurat dalam ICERD, CERD telah mengambil kira aspek agama dalam tindakannya. CERD dalam sesi ke 75 pada tahun 2009 melalui “General Recommendation No. 32” menyatakan seperti berikut:-

“7. The principle of enjoyment of human rights on an equal footing is integral to the Convention’s prohibition of discrimination on grounds of race, colour, descent, and national or ethnic origin. The “grounds” of discrimination are extended in practice by the notion of “intersectionality” whereby the Committee addresses situations of double or multiple discrimination - such as discrimination on grounds of gender or religion – when discrimination on such a ground appears to exist in combination with a ground or grounds listed in article 1 of the Convention…”

●     Fokusnya pada ayat “the grounds of discrimination are extended in practice by the notion of intersectionality whereby the Committee addresses situations of double or multiple discrimination – such as discrimination on grounds of gender or religion”. Jelas ICERD boleh merangkumi asas agama sekiranya digabungkan dengan asas lain seperti perkauman.

●     Doktrin 'intersectionality' atau dalam bahasa mudahnya merentas bahagian ini diterima secara formal oleh CERD walaupun agama tiada dalam definisi ICERD.

●     Jose A. Lindgren Alves, seorang bekas diplomat Brazil yang merupakan pakar Undang-undang Antarabangsa menyatakan dalam artikelnya berjudul “Race and Religion in the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination” jelas menyatakan:-

“While racism and religious prejudice are commonly interlinked, they are in essence different phenomena. Past civil rights violations amongst specific groups were mostly based on physical features.It is therefore natural that ICERD, drafted in the 1960s, should not necessarily include religion in the list of elements on which racial discrimination is based. CERD, however, soon noticed that the intersection between racial and religious discrimination was a fact, and little by little devised ways of dealing with it”

●     Fokus kepada ayat “CERD, however, soon noticed that the intersection between racial and religion discrimination was a fact, and little by little devised ways of dealing with it”.

●     Beliau juga menyatakan:-

“Of course religion is neither nationality nor ethnic origin, let alone race or colour. But since religion has historically been one of the defining components of ethnicity, and ethnic origin is mentioned as one of the bases of racial discrimination, it is generally considered fitting that CERD should pay attention to the situation of religious minorities”.

●     Beliau selanjutnya menyatakan:-

“Although this activity by CERD is still sometimes objected to on grounds that religion is not race (mostly by experts who share the dominant religion of the state considered), it is becoming commonly accepted by all.”

●     Fokus kepada ayat “…it is becoming commonly accepted by all”.

●      Nazila Ghanea dalam pembentangannya kepada CERD pada tahun 2012 menyatakan tentang 'intersectionality' seperti berikut:-

“It is submitted that discrimination existing ‘in combination with’ the grounds listed in Article 1 of the Convention in fact allows for a greater flexibility than has been exercised to date by the CERD Committee. In line with existing CERD practice, this would have to primarily be informed by the “self identification”of the claimant, whether of their ethnicity, religion or belief, race or other grounds”.

●     Fokus kepada ayat “allows for a greater flexibility than has been exercised to date by the CERD Committee”.

●     Terang lagi bersuluh, walaupun “agama” tidak didefinisikan secara tersurat dalam ICERD, ia tetap memberi impak besar kepada kedudukan agama.

●     Qatar boleh dijadikan pedoman. Dalam Laporan CERD 2002, CERD dengan jelas menyatakan seperti berikut:-

“As regards the right to equal treatment before the courts, the Committee takes note of the details provided by the delegation on the judicial reforms under way with a view to the establishment of a single jurisdiction for the enforcement of new legislation in areas including civil, commercial and penal law. It would like to know whether, given the current state of legislation, non-citizens and non-Muslims who suffer discrimination and who are entitled to bring proceedings before a civil court can also bring their cases before the Islamic Shariah courts. The Committee also wishes to know to what extent the Convention can be invoked before the civil and Shariah courts, and what rules of the Shariah answer to the requirements of the Convention. It wishes to receive more information about the relationship between the Provisional Constitution of 1972, in particular article 9 guaranteeing equality before the law, and the principles of Sharia as a source of law”.

●     Fokus kepada ayat “It would like to know whether, given the current state of legislation, non-citizens and non-Muslims who suffer discrimination and who are entitled to bring proceedings before a civil court can also bring their cases before the Islamic Shariah courts”. Ternyata, CERD sudah mencampuri urusan kehakiman Qatar dengan mempersoalkan sistem berkembar Sivil dan Syariah.

●     Tidakkah ia serupa dengan Malaysia? Bukankah kita bercakap tentang ICERD dan CERD yang sama?

●    Laporan tersebut menyatakan lagi:-

“The Committee notes that the State party's legislation does not, in principle, allow members of different religions to inherit from each other; it has learned from the delegation's explanations, however, that a Muslim can draw up a will in favour of a non-Muslim. The Committee emphasizes that such a situation should not result in certain categories of people being excluded from the right to inherit, given the requirements of article 5 (d) (iv) of the Convention”.

●     Fokus kepada ayat “The Committee emphasizes that such a situation should not result in certain categories of people being excluded from the right to inherit”. CERD sekali lagi cuba mencampuri perihal fara’id dalam Islam yang mempunyai prinsip-prinsip tersendiri.

●     Bukankah ini apa yang saya katakan sebelum ini (dalam tulisan yang lepas) tentang hak fara’id dan pewarisan yang bakal dicampuri oleh ICERD? Bukankah ia ICERD dan CERD yang sama?

●     Lihat pula apa kata Laporan tersebut kepada Arab Saudi:-

“The Committee is concerned about reports that persons of some racial or ethnic origins are unable to manifest their religious beliefs in the State party. The Committee wishes to receive further information on this issue”.

●     Fokus kepada ayat “unable to manifest their religious beliefs in the State Party”. Tidakkah ini mencampuri soal agama dalam sesebuah Negara, dan bagaimana takrifan “kepercayaan” dalam sesebuah Negara? Sepertimana Malaysia yang mendefinisikan kepercayaan-kepercayaan seperti Syi’ah, Qadyani sebagai sesat?

●    Tidak cukup dengan itu, lihatlah teguran CERD kepada Republik Iran tentang diskriminasi mereka terhadap Baha’is:-

“The Committee takes note with concern of the reported discrimination faced by certain minorities, including the Baha'is, who are deprived of certain rights, and that certain provisions of the State party's legislation appear to be discriminatory on both ethnic and religious grounds”.

●     Fokus kepada ayat “discriminatory on both ethnic and religious ground”. Bukankah itu menyentuh takrifan Iran tentang kepercayaan yang mereka benarkan atau tidak?

●     Mahu berhujah ICERD tidak jejaskan agama lagi? Saya katakan sebelum segalanya terlambat, bahawa ICERD akan mencampuri dan menjejaskan institusi kehakiman Syariah kita, prinsip-prinsip fara’id dan pewarisan serta institusi fatwa yang senantiasa mentafsir kepercayaan yang salah dan sesat dalam agama bagi mempertahan keluhuran agama dan keharmonian negara.

●     Sekali lagi saya katakan, hak asasi kita acuan kita. ICERD tidak perlu diterima!