HRWF (23.04.2012) – France has taken new initiatives to prevent « sectarian drifts » in the health and school education sectors.

New MIVILUDES manual on « Health and Sectarian Drifts »

MIVILUDES has just published a new manual entitled « Health and sectarian drifts ».

It is designed for health professionals to warn them against so-called sectarian drifts. The Preface explains that promises and recipes of healing, well-being and personal development are at the heart of sectarian drifts.

It includes a list of the most widespread « pseudo therapies » as Annex 1. It contains such names as Ayurvedic (traditional Indian medicine), biomagnetism, energetic medicine, nature cures, relaxation therapy…

However, the criteria given in the chapter « How does one fall under the undue influence of a therapeutic guru? » show that the concept of « sectarian drifts » is applied much more broadly and could concern religious minorities since it mentions as approaches by « pseudo » therapists « a seducing approach through an offer of personal enhancement, of spirituality or therapy ».

Pursuant to another chapter « How to recognize a charlatan or a sectarian pseudo therapist? », a person should be suspected of sectarian drifts when he/she:  criticizes conventional medicine or the treatments that your qualified health team has proposed, incites you to stop your treatment,  promises you miraculous healing where conventional medicine failed,  puts forward beneficial effects impossible to be assessed, such as « improvement of your karma » or « circulation of internal energies », asks you to commit yourself by paying in advance a number of sessions,  offers free sessions for you to try such or such method, recommends you to buy devices supposed to detect negative energies or products presented as miraculous, often at exorbitant prices, not reimbursed by Social Security,  promises you a global care which is supposed to act through the same technique on your mind, your body and even all sorts of disorders, presents you a new vision of the world using terms such as: cosmic waves, lunar cycles, vibratory dimension, purification, energies, cosmos, conscience…,  uses a very complex pseudo-scientific language or on the contrary pretends having discovered an extremely simple means of action, incites you to break up with your family, your doctor, your relations, to help your healing.

Health professionals (doctors, nurses, etc.) are asked to use the above list to interrogate their patients in case of doubt on the existence of a sectarian therapeutic drift.

If they suspect such drift, they have to report it to MIVILUDES and to their national health professional associations, the details of which are given in the manual: associations of medical doctors, pharmacists, midwifes, dentists, masseuses, physical therapists, nurses, podiatrists, chiropodists.

They should also refer their patients to MIVILUDES and to anti-sect groups such as UNADFI, CCMM and the Association Alert to Induced False Memories, and they should advise them that they can file criminal suits.

New Circular of the Ministry of National Education

A new Circular has been published on 5 April 2012 by the Ministry and addressed to education authorities of primary and high schools entitled « Prevention and Fight against Sectarian Risks ».

It states that the national education agents in charge of this subject are coordinated at national level by a Mission, the National Mission of Prevention of Sectarian Phenomena in Education (MPPS), which is under the legal affairs direction at the Ministry of Education and which coordinates with other Ministries through MIVILUDES.

For the full efficiency of this Mission, the concept of sectarian drift has to be clarified to the national education agents.

Then the Circular provides the following explanation:

« A situation of sectarian risk, for a child, is therefore the one in which some views and practices are imposed on him with the exception of any other views or practice. This situation is likely to harm his intellectual development, his social integration and finally his attainment of autonomy. The risk concerns not only the content of the knowledge passed on, the possibility of access to the values and pluralism of democratic societies, but also the possibility for the child to develop and exert a critical mind, an independent judgment. The context can be family, or even community: the child is then likely to be under the undue influence of views and practices threatening his education; or extra-family: the child is then likely to be subjected to views and practices which can be harmful to him either: – at school (through the teacher, his friends, an association delivering services at school or distributed literature), or at tutoring associations or during a stay with a family abroad ».

Pursuant to such a definition, catechism given to children by Catholic parents should be prohibited. This constitutes a direct violation of the right of parents to raise their children according to their own beliefs protected by the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Circular also mentions that « units for the collection, processing and assessment of worrying situations » (« cellules de recueil, de traitement et d’évaluation des informations préoccupantes » (CRIP)) have been created in each of the French Departments (regions). Pursuant to a law of 5 March 2007, the Presidents of the General Councils (at the head of the Departments) are now in charge of « the collect, processing and assessment, at any time and from whatever source, of worrying information on minors who are in danger or liable to be » instead of previously being in charge of the collection of information on mistreated minors. (Article L226-3 of the Code of Social Action and Families)

This has been done at MIVILUDES’ instigation.

In the 2009 MIVILUDES annual report, its President explained that a law of 5 March 2007 modified Article 375 of the Civil Code, making it possible for the judicial authorities to order a special educational assistance not only when a child’s health, security, morality or conditions of education are in danger like the Article used to provide, but also when the conditions of a child’s « physical, affective, intellectual and social development are seriously endangered ». These new criteria are designed to cover « situations of sectarian subjection » where the child « has blossomed, works well at school and does not complain about anything » but has a « univocal vision of the world » referred to by Mr. Fenech.

Pursuant to the same law of 5 March 2007 (Article L226-4 of the Code of Social Action and Families), the President of a General Council who gets information from the units above mentioned should report without delay to the Public Prosecutor if a minor is in danger pursuant to Article 375 of the Civil Code when the family refuses the intervention of the services of social aid to minors or when it appears impossible to assess the danger situation.

FOREF (21.04.2012)  – On 19 April, Friedrich Griess, the representative of FECRIS, the umbrella organization of about 25 anti-sect organizations in Europe, held a workshop as a side-event of the annual meeting of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) in Vienna. More than 200 representatives of 180 civil society organizations were invited to the 5th Annual Meeting of the FRA Platform for NGOs but only a dozen attended that workshop during which Griess denounced the violations of children’s rights by a small obscure religious group named The Family. This faith-based organization which has disappeared from the European religious landscape was accused by Griess of committing child abuse… 10 years ago. However, Griess could not mention any concrete case of prosecution against The Family or any other religious group in Austrian. Moreover, he kept totally silent about the 613 victims of child abuse in the Catholic Church to whom the Church will have to pay a financial compensation of 8 million EUR.

Such double standards aiming at creating social panic about the so-called danger posed by « sects » discredit FECRIS in Europe and its affiliated organization in Austria.

See the link to « Klasnic-Kommission had 8 Millionen Euro zuerkannt », an article about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church published by Der Standart on 17 April:

http://derstandard.at/1334530940878/Missbrauch-Klasnic-Kommission-hat-acht-Millionen-Euro-zuerkannt

In their eyes, rejecting the laïcité philosophy and conspiring against the Republic and training for armed struggle and aiming to establish a caliphate and to implement the sharia law are not sectarian deviations as they turn a blind eye to these practices and a deaf ear to their interior minister’s warnings about Forsane Alizza and other similar Muslim groups.

Would they have been silent and inactive if just one of these charges had been brought against the non-Muslim groups they usually demonize?

These double standards clearly show that MIVILUDES and FECRIS’ affiliates in France are umbrella organizations for several groups of interest having each their own agenda. See below the warnings and actions of Claude Guéant, interior minister, in an article of Le Monde that was published on 29 February (Translation by HRWF).

Claude Guéant bans a radical Islamist group

The French interior minister, Claude Guéant, had warned in the past that his fight against radical Islam would at some point lead to the banning of an Islamist group and the deportation of an extremist imam. As predicted, the decree outlawing a group known as Forsane Alizza (Knights of Pride) was to be signed at the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, February 29. The deportation of the imam, on the other hand, was postponed indefinitely.

The decision to ban the group is the first time that such a ruling has been handed down against an Islamist movement. The targeted group, « made up of about a hundred persons, » according to the interior minister, is most notably accused of « training for an armed struggle and conspiring to overthrow the republican form of government ». The minister specified that « Forsane Alizza is a paramilitary group, » adding that, « by its call for the establishment of a caliphate and the implementation of sharia law (Islamic law) in France, the group undermines the democratic regime. » Forsane Alizza, which, according to the declarations of its leading official, Mohamed Achamlane, « rejects secularism », became famousfor its demonstrations against the law which forbid the wearing of the full veil and, more recently, in support of fundamentalist Catholics who protested theater pieces that they felt were blasphemous. On February 10, Mr. Achamlane was sentenced on appeal to four months suspended sentence for trying to incite others to racial discrimination; he was prosecuted for calling for a boycott against a McDonald’s restaurant, accusing the restaurant chain of serving Israel, and for having destroyed and called for the burning of a penal code, in which, according to Mr. Achamlane, « there was not one line which protects Muslims. »

The group, which advertises itself through video on its own website, acknowledges that the transition « to armed combat is possible if Islamophobia intensifies. » By this proposition, it tries to recruit « soldiers »: « If you enjoy combat sports, then you are the type of person we are looking for, inshallah. » According to the group’s website, Forsane Alizza’s leader promises that banning the group will lead to « Muslims separating themselves from the rest of society. »

« Old man »

As for Imam Mohammed Hammami, the deportation commission, which was supposed to gather on February 7 to rule on the fate of the 76-year-old Tunisian, will not meet again until May 15, a delay granted due to his request for legal aid. The possible return to Tunisia of this Muslim cleric, accused by public officials of having advocated « death by flogging » for adulterous women and for having given vent to violently anti-Semitic and discriminatory hate-speech, cannot occur during the presidential election campaign, as the interior minister had hoped.

As one of the leading officials of the Faith and Practice Association, a branch of the ultra-orthodox Tabligh movement, Mr. Hammami participated in the creation of the French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM) in 2003. One of his sons currently holds a post within the CFCM. The CFCM has taken notice of the deportation request, emphasizing that the words attributed to this imam « are in total contradiction to the commitments of the Faith and Practice Association ». Some leading Muslims are surprised that such an attack on this « old man » is taking place now, given that his ultra-orthodox approach to Islam has been well known for many years.

The interior minister, it seems, wanted to show that Place Beauveau (the Ministry of the Interior) has, « since the Islamist victory in the Tunisian elections », been monitoring the more radical opinions of certain imams. Experts on Islam have generally noted a cautious tone in the public expressions of religious radicals and stress that many among them are French citizens and cannot therefore be deported. For them, the interior minister pointed out in Le Monde on January 3, « it is the penal code that would apply ». In the last ten years, 34 imams have been deported.

Stéphanie Le Bars

UHCHR (06.03 2012) / – United Nations Special Rapporteur Heiner Bielefeldt today said that « official ‘State religions’ should never be used for purposes of national identity politics, as this may have detrimental effects for the situation of individuals from minority communities. » He also urged States to make sure that any privileges, financial or otherwise, granted to ‘official’ religions or beliefs should not amount to any kind of discrimination against members of other religions or beliefs.

« It seems difficult, if not impossible, to conceive of an official ‘State religion’ that in practice does not have adverse effects on religious minorities, thus discriminating against their members, » said Mr. Bielefeldt presenting his report*  on freedom of religion or belief and ‘recognition’ issues, at the current session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The report explores key issues from the meanings of ‘recognition’ regarding the right to freedom of religion or belief, to the limits that registration procedures can impose on certain religious or belief communities, and the need for States ensure that an official ‘State religion’ does not discriminate religious minorities.

« Respect for freedom of religion or belief as a human right does not depend on administrative registration procedures, as it has the status of a human right, prior to and independent of any acts of State approval, » the Special Rapporteur stressed.

Mr. Bielefeldt distinguishes between three different meanings of the concept of State recognition, underscoring the need of clearly distinguishing between them to avoid misunderstandings that could affect the implementation of freedom of religion or belief, or even undermine its status as a universal human right.

*    « Recognition » as due respect for the status of all human beings as right holders by virtue of their inherent dignity.

*    « Recognition » in terms of States providing the status of legal personality, which religious or belief groups may need for the exercise of important communitarian aspects of their freedom of religion or belief.

*    « Recognition » in the sense of States according a specific privileged status position to some religious or belief communities.

The UN independent expert called on States to offer appropriate options for religious or belief communities to achieve the status of legal personality, which may be needed to undertake important community functions relevant for the full enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief, which is a right of individuals to be exercised either alone or together with others. « Registration procedures for obtaining legal personality status should be quick, transparent, fair, inclusive and non-discriminatory, » he said.

(*) Check the full report:

http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/RegularSession/Session19/A-HRC-19-60_en.pdf

Heiner Bielefeldt assumed his mandate as Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief on 1st August 2010. He is Professor of Human Rights and Human Rights Politics at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. From 2003 to 2009, he was Director of Germany’s National Human Rights Institution. Mr. Bielefeldt’s research interests include various interdisciplinary facets of human rights theory and practice, with a focus on freedom of religion or belief. Log on: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/religion/

Brussels, Belgium – In a resolution by the European Parliament and in statements by European officials and civil rights organizations, Russia has been censured for banning the book of a Chinese spiritual practice—a measure it took, observers say, as a result of pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

On Jan. 20, a resolution was passed in the full European Parliament expressing “deep concern” about the misuse of anti-extremism legislation in Russia, including the “improper banning” of the spiritual literature of Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong.

Then on Feb. 28 at a meeting on the Subcommittee on Human Rights in the European Parliament, statements were heard also criticizing the Russian government’s ban. High-level officials in the European Commission, and members of the European Parliament, have also written to each other with worry about the Russian legal decisions and their implications.

The flurry of criticism and concern emanate from a Dec. 22, 2011 action by the regional court in Krasnodar, in the south of Russia, to confirm the decision of a lower court to ban Falun Gong spiritual materials—specifically the central book of the practice, “Zhuan Falun”—and a report by two Canadian researchers titled “Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China.” A clutch of other Falun Gong-related material was also encompassed in the ban, which means they were added to the Ministry of Justice’s “extremist publications” list.

Falun Gong is a Chinese spiritual practice that has been persecuted in its home country since 1999; Chinese communist authorities have assiduously promoted the campaign abroad, leveraging their extensive diplomatic channels in foreign countries. It is thought that the Russian judicial moves are part of this wider Chinese communist effort.

“There were numerous violations in the court proceedings, in which the rights of Falun Gong practitioners to defend themselves were not respected and taken into account,” according to a statement by the Falun Dafa Association in Russia.

“The Falun Gong association has been legally registered in several cities of Russia and Falun Gong practitioners in Russia are law-obeying residents, following the peaceful meditation practice of Falun Gong,” the statement said. “This court case is an obvious violation of the fundamental human rights of Falun Gong practitioners.”

Falun Gong practitioners have the support of high-level officials in the European Commission. Catherine Ashton, the vice president of the European Commission (the executive body of the European Union), noted in a letter to two parliamentary members that the case is being followed “very closely” at EU headquarters in Brussels and by the EU delegation in Moscow.

The letter notes a number of related cases of harassment—prosecution, house searches, fines, and confiscations—that befell Russian Falun Gong practitioners as extralegal augments to the judicial edicts. “All these questions and concerns have been raised with Russian authorities on a number of occasions,” Ashton wrote, concluding with: “Let me assure you that we will continue to follow the developments in this case very closely.”

The Russian moves were also noted by the Moscow-based SOVA Center for Information and Analysis, whose director said the group had “serious problems” with actions of Russian law enforcement officials and court decisions that have looked “very strange,” in remarks to New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television.

Sergey Skulkin, the spokesperson of the Falun Dafa Association of Russia, said that treating Falun Gong spiritual texts as extremist literature could lead to criminal prosecution of practitioners in Russia. “All of this is a consequence of the pressure of the Chinese regime on the Russian government. Practitioners of Falun Gong in Russia have been facing this pressure for the past eight years,” he said in an interview with NTD.

The Falun Dafa Association’s letter says: “We urge the international community to pay serious attention to this court case and to protection of the basic rights of Falun Gong practitioners in Russia, so that they have the right to practice their belief and read the ‘Zhuan Falun’ book, already translated into more than 39 languages and shared by 100 million people in over 114 countries.”

The statement says the group’s next stop will be the Russian Supreme Court.

HRWF (16.02.2012) – The report of MIVILUDES has been translated in English on http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,26706.0.html

The translation of this report is a positive step because many people outside France and French-speaking countries will have access to first-hand material showing how social panic can be artificially created in a European democracy. The latest attempt is to instrumentalize a prediction based on the Maya calendar that the end of the world would take place in December 2012.

Some people have been waiting for « a new heaven and a new earth » for thousands of years. Many religions are rooted in such an expectation (Jehovah’s Witnesses or Seventh-Day Adventists). They have kept and are still keeping alive the hope in a world where justice, wealth, sharing, love and health will prevail. The Catholic Church has also experienced the intense expectation of the coming back of Christ and its perfect Kingdom but has given it up. There was such a hope in the year 1000 and also in 2000. Now, some have another year in mind: 2012.

It is a good opportunity for the opponents of sects to revive their arguments on the risks of such an expectation. They recall that before the year 2000 « suicides » or « mass suicides » of some groups took place in the past, their aim being to increase the social panic. Why? For them, it is vital to survive financially and in the media. The social panic allows them to justify the grants they have received and to ask for more on the ground that this imminent danger threatens everybody, including children. For example, they announced that 60,000 children are under threat of mistreatment while a wide survey carried out by the Ministry of Social Affairs says « maybe two ». What is more dramatic is the fact that 100,000 children in France do not get enough to eat and that people die from the cold on the street when it freezes, and « sects » have nothing to do with that.

Social panic also targets healers and alternative therapists although the death toll to be attributed to these healers is unknown. What is known however is the number of medical errors in France: 100,000 per year 4,000 of which are lethal.

Noteworthy is the fact that MIVILUDES and anti-sect activists keep silent about Muslim sects in France and violent Islamic sects abroad. It is easier and safer to accuse an isolated yoga teacher and to submit him to fiscal control. It is also easier to denounce the gas attempt by Aum Shinrikyo in the metro of Tokyo than the one perpetrated in the metro station « Luxembourg » in Paris by the GIA (Armed Islamic Group) some years ago. At their trial, opponents to sects failed to support the victims by instituting a civil action and left them helpless.

Elizabeth Bryant (« The Washington Post, » February 15, 2012)

Chesnay, France – Past clusters of houses and frozen fields in this Paris suburb, the Palace of Versailles sparkles in the evening sun. But Mayor Philippe Brillault has his eyes set on a different landmark: an abandoned, asbestos-choked power plant.

It’s the spot where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would like to build France’s first Mormon temple.

“We weren’t overjoyed, because Mormons have an image that’s pretty much negative,” the mayor said. “But for what can we reproach these people? Not polygamy. Proselytizing was the biggest concern.”

With 36,000 members and a history stretching back to the 1850s, France’s Mormon community is among the biggest and oldest in Europe. But while Mormons in the U.S. are asserting their clout with Mitt Romney’s presidential bid, their faith mostly draws blank stares here.

That is changing, partly due to French media coverage of the U.S. elections and Romney’s stint as a young Mormon missionary in France during the 1960s. And partly because of concerns about the temple project.

“It’s a form of opposition that’s sometimes manifested because people don’t know us,” said LDS spokesman Christian Euvrard. “But when people get the real information, of course, they will see that most of those false ideas will fall by themselves.”

Mormons in France currently attend services at one of more than 100 meetinghouses around the country. But they must travel to Germany or Britain for special services like weddings and proxy baptisms that can only take place in temples. Across Europe, the church counts nearly half a million members.

“Going to temple is a wonderful experience — it’s a time to contemplate things going on in our lives, things we’ve learned in the gospel and scriptures,” said 40-year-old Tucson, Ariz., native Darla Pape, one of a handful of American ex-pats who attend Mormon church in the neighboring town of Versailles.

“Church members in France would see many blessings to have a temple close by.”

The mayor ultimately granted the building permit after finding no grounds to refuse it. Mormon officials hope to complete the temple — along with gardens and a guesthouse — within the next few years.

But opposition is growing. An online petition has already gathered 6,000 signatories against the project, although the mayor says most are not local residents.

“Would I have preferred something else?” asks Brillault. “Sure. But because I’m a Catholic and they’re Mormons is no reason to say no.”

Political opponents disagree. They claim the mayor rammed the project through with little debate, and that the site is better suited for other purposes, like public housing.

“This is a way for the Mormons to plant themselves on national territory for the long haul,” said municipal councilor Berengere Brunel. “There are examples of sectarian currents in this movement. This goes way beyond Chesnay.”

Marie Drilhon, local chapter head of UNADFI, a nongovernmental group that fights religious extremism, is also skeptical about the Mormons and their project.

“It’s a demanding church for the faithful,” she said, describing some cases of members who have left the church who were pressured to return. “People who are more fragile don’t do well in this church.”

But the controversy also illustrates a larger wariness of non-mainstream religions in France, where a government watchdog group monitors cults. While the LDS church is recognized here, others — like the Church of Scientology, which lost a recent appeals ruling on fraud charges — are considered sects.

“The United States was built in large part on the belief in religious freedom,” said political analyst Nicole Bacharan. “The French Republic was built against the church, and the value of separation of state and church is extremely strong. Whenever there seems to be some infringement, (the) French get all fired up.”

“Mormon temples tend to be really big,” she added. “And only Mormons can attend ceremonies in temples — so that can also create suspicion.”

On the streets of Chesnay, opinions are divided.

“I’ve watched television reports about the Mormons, especially in America,” said resident Veronique Lindet. “I try to be fairly open, but I have to admit I think it’s a form of sect.”

But another woman, who only gave her first name, Michelle, only laughed.

“I’ve visited Salt Lake City three times so I know the Mormon temple and everything about it,” she said. “It doesn’t mean I’m going to convert.”

Euvrard, the local church spokesman, said that while only the faithful will be able to visit the temple, the surrounding gardens will be open to the public.

“Some fear Chesnay will become a new Salt Lake City, that they will see Mormons everywhere,” he said. “These are just fantasies. The more people get to know us, the more they will get the right ideas.”

By Willy Fautre, Human Rights Without Frontiers

HRWF (02.02.2012) – www.hrwf.net – At the end of January, the minister of the interior, Claude Guéant, announced that the Islamic group Forsane Alizza (Riders of Pride) would be dissolved on the ground that it was training people for armed fighting.

Forsane Alizza was created in August 2010. The French Ministry of the Interior considers it a pro-jihadist islamist group. According to the French intelligence services, the group promotes armed struggle on religious grounds. They have also posted anti-Semitic statements on their website. On 14 November 2010, Forsane Alizza advocated stoning in the Western world. On 26 April 2011, it called upon the killing of homosexuals: « When you find two men, committing Loth’s sin, put them to death, » they said.

French Miviludes and anti-sect organizations are keeping silent about the ban on Forsane Alizza. It means that in their eyes the religiously motivated killing of homosexuals, stoning and armed struggle are not sectarian deviations…

According to collaborators of Claude Guéant, the national emir of Forsane, Mohamed Achamlane, alias Abou Hamza, who lives in Loire- Atlantique, insulted police officers who had stopped veiled women, calling them « dogs » and warned them that  » the daily violence against Muslims will one day turn into a blood bath. » In August 2011, he publicly burnt a criminal code.

The Ministry of the Interior also stressed that Forsane Alizza offers its most active members training to martial arts, paint-ball shooting with simulated hostage-taking and religious indoctrination. The movement is also suspected to have relations with Islamist movements abroad or people involved in terrorist actions, including the banned British organization Al Mouhajiroun, which had hailed the 9/11 attempt and named Tony Blair « a legitimate target for any Muslim. » During some demonstrations, members of Forsane Alizza display flags and banderoles of Al Mouhajiroun.

Mrs Praneet Kaur, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs: ‘I am very happy with the UN’s decision and congratulate the UNITED SIKHS team for making everyone realise what the turban means to Sikhs, their identity and pride. I am very pleased that the UN has recognised the fundamental right of a Sikh to practice his/her faith by wearing a turban. We respect France’s sovereign right to frame laws. I will ensure that the Indian Government continues, at the highest level, to raise this issue with France. This UN decision will certainly help us advance our case with France.”

Lawyers:

Stephen Grosz, Head of Public Law & Human Rights at London solicitors Bindmans, who was engaged by UNITED SIKHS to file a communication to the UNHRC on behalf of Bikramjit Singh, a French student who was expelled from a French school for refusing to remove his head covering after the 2004 law was passed by France that banned religious signs in schools:

“The Human Rights Committee’s decision is very heartening.  The Committee recognises that even a one-off requirement to remove a turban for the purposes of an identity photograph interferes with a Sikh’s religious rights; and it considers that the French Government advanced no argument that the Committee considered sufficient to justify this interference.  The Committee will shortly consider the restrictions placed on the wearing of turbans by French school students, and the Committee’s approach is encouraging.

Eric Rassbach, National Litigation Director, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty:

“The Committee has struck a major blow in defence of religious liberty. This is a victory not just for Sikhs, but for people of all faiths who seek to live up to their beliefs. The Becket Fund congratulates Mr. Singh and United Sikhs for their persistence and bravery in standing up for the rights of all. »

Francois Jacquot, lawyer who represented Ranjit Singh in the French courts: “This is the first time that the UNHRC has sanctioned the French State for violation of Religious freedom of a member of the Sikh Community in regards to the Turban. In that respect, the decision is historical.

Ranjit Singh is finally recognized in his rights for freedom of Religion and respect of his Identity, after numerous years of frustration. The French State has not been able to « explaine(d) how, specifically, identity photographs in which people appear bareheaded help to avert the risk of fraud or falsification of residence permits. », while it was the reason invoked by the French authorities and the French Court to justify  the violation of the religion Freedom of Sikhs.”

Carla Clarke, (acting) Head of Law, Minority Rights Group International: “This is a welcome decision which makes it clear that where states interfere with peoples’ basic human rights they cannot expect simply to invoke the phrases “public order” and “public safety” to justify such interferences but must show concretely why their measures are necessary to ensure such public order and safety. In this regard, the Human Rights Committee has shown itself prepared to take a more pro-active and investigative stance than the European Court of Human Rights when faced with similar cases.”

Sikh Community Leaders:

Avtar Singh Makkar, President, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC): Its a great victory for which SGPC had supported UNITED SIKHS when the case was filed in 2008. We are very pleased that the UN has recognised the challenges faced by Sikhs in protecting our identity and held that Sikh should not be required to remove his turban. We will ask the Punjab government to put pressure on France to comply with the UN’s decision and fulfil their obligations under international law.”    

Paramjit Singh Sarna, President, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee: We are very grateful to UNITED SIKHS and the UN for this great victory for the Sikhs’ right to wear our turban. We wish UNITED SIKHS the very best and are ready to do any seva you request.”

Bhai Amrik Singh, Chair, Sikh Federation (UK):  “It is excellent news that the UN Human Rights Committee has come out in support of Baba Ranjit Singh’s fundamental right to wear his turban for the photograph on his resident card.  The Sikh Federation (UK) was delighted to join Sikhs from across the globe in New York to submit the cases to the UN in December 2008.  Sikhs must now come together again to see what diplomatic and political pressure can be exerted on the French Government to recognise the UN decision in support of the Sikhs right to wear the turban.”

Jaspal Singh Anand, Chair: European & International Affairs Committee, Sikh Council UK: The Sikh Council UK congratulates United Sikhs and other Sikh organisations that have worked tirelessly in representing Baba Ranjit Singh’s rights as a Sikh to wear his      Turban for the photograph for his identity card and on the landmark decision announced by the UN’s Human Rights Committee in providing unequivocal support in recognising the Sikh Turban as an integral part of it’s religious identity while declaring France in breach of Article 18 of the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which it is a signatory

Bobigny, France, 12 Jan 2012 – The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has concluded that France had violated the religious freedom of 76 year old Ranjit Singh when he was asked to remove his turban for his ID photograph. This was disclosed today at a media conference, in Bobigny (near Paris), by the UNITED SIKHS legal team, who had filed a communication on behalf of Ranjit Singh to the UNHRC in December 2008.

The media conference was told that the UNHRC observed that “even if the obligation to remove the turban for the identity photograph might be described as a one-time requirement, it would potentially interfere with the author’s (Ranjit Singh’s) freedom of religion on a continuing basis because he would always appear without his religious head covering in the identity photograph and could therefore be compelled to remove his turban during identity checks.”

The Committee said that France had failed to explain how the Sikh turban hindered identification since the wearer’s face would be visible and he would be wearing the turban it at all times, therefore, the regulation constituted a violation of article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which was entered into force for France on 4 February 1981. You may read the Committees views in full at

http://www.ccprcentre.org/doc/OP1/Decisions/102/1876%202009%20France_en.pdf

The views were adopted at the 102nd session of the Committee’s sitting.

“I had faith that truth and justice would prevail and I patiently waited for this day. I pray that France will now fulfil its obligation and grant me a residence card bearing my photo without baring my head,” said Ranjit Singh, who despite his ill-health has had no access to the public health-care system or to social benefits since 2005 because his residence card was refused due to his refusal to remove his turban.

“UNITED SIKHS is heartened by the Committee’s observations that France is under an obligation to provide Ranjit Singh with an effective remedy, including a reconsideration of his application for a renewal of his residence permit and a review of the relevant legislative framework and its application in practice. France, the Committee noted, is also under an obligation to take steps to prevent similar violations in the future,” said Mejindarpal Kaur, UNITED SIKHS Legal Director, who addressed the media conference.

“We now look to France to fulfil its treaty obligations under International law and its moral duty to ensure that the freedom of religion and belief is upheld for everyone who lives within its territory,” she added.

“We are very pleased with the views that the Committee adopted and we welcome France’s compliance with these findings.  We also look forward to a similar resolution for Shingara Singh, whose case is still pending before the Committee,” O’Melveny & Myers, a New York law firm engaged by UNITED SIKHS, said in a statement through their attorneys who spoke during a telephone interview. A decision is still awaited for Shingara Singh, whose passport has not been renewed by France because he refused to remove his turban for his ID photograph.

You may read a previous press release on our advocacy for religious freedom at http://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-10-09-2011-02.html

 Issued by

Mejindarpal Kaur

Legal Director

International Civil and Human Rights Advocacy ( ICHRA)

UNITED SIKHS

law@unitedsikhs.org

+33 605800605/+44 8701993328