THE TANDEM PROJECT
UNITED NATIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS,
FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF
FOLLOW-UP TO THE UNIVERSAL
PERIODIC REVIEW
U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR AND POPE
ADDRESS SECULARISM IN
Issue: Re-examining the principle of laicite
in
For: United Nations, Governments, Religions or Beliefs,
Academia, NGOs, Media, Civil Society
Review: Pope Addresses Secularism in
France, and Benedict XVI Urges Redefining State-Church Divide in
U.N. Special Rapporteur
on Freedom of Religion or Belief, in her report on France to the U.N. Human
Rights Council on March 8 2006, (E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.4) recommended to the
government that the French principle of laicite, almost
equivalent to secularism or separation of church and state, be among the issues
re-examined in light of the prevailing situation in France today.
A Word Document is
attached for the France Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The addendum to
recommendations made by the U.N. Human Rights Council before adoption of the
UPR Outcome indicates suggestions made by Pope Benedict XVI and the U.N.
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief to re-examine laicite in light of the present situation today will not be
part of the Follow-up to the French Universal Periodic Review.
The Tandem Project
believes Human Rights Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief should be part
of the Follow-up process to the France Universal Periodic Review process. This
includes re-examining the principle of laicite and the
option of an International Convention on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
Excerpts: Excerpts are presented under the Eight Articles of
the 1981 U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. Examples of extracts are presented
prior to an Issue Statement for each Review.
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Link to New York Times
article Pope Addresses Secularism in
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Link to Special
Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief,
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G06/117/19/PDF/G0611719.pdf?OpenElement
1. 1 Everyone shall have the
right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include
freedom to have a religion or whatever belief of his choice, and freedom,
either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to
manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practices and teaching.
1. 2. No one shall be subject to
coercion which would impair his freedom to have a religion or belief of his
choice.
1. 3 Freedom to manifest one’s
religion or belief may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by
law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, morals or the
fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
2. 1 No one shall be subject to
discrimination by any State, institution, group of persons or person on the
grounds of religion or other beliefs.
2. 2 For the purposes of the
present Declaration, the expression ‘intolerance and discrimination based on
religion or belief’ means any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or
preference based on religion or belief and having as its purpose or as its
effect nullification or impairment of the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of
human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis.
U.N.
SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF
The principle of laicite
96. The Special Rapporteur notes that the
situation prevailing today in France is different from the one which existed at
the time of the adoption of the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State
(loi concernant la separation des Eglises et de l’Etat), which constitutes the
basis of the principle of laicite (which
is almost equivalent to secularism) in France. While recognizing that the
organization of a society according to his principle may not only be healthy,
but also guarantees the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief, she
is concerned that, in some circumstances, the selective interpretation and
right application of the principle has operated at the expense of the right to
freedom of religion or belief. – E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.4)
POPE
ADDRESSES SECULARISM IN
PARIS – In his first visit to France as pope on
Friday, Benedict XVI touched on central themes of his papacy – the tensions
between faith and reason and church and state, as well as his efforts to reach
out to Muslims and Jews – and urged an increasingly irreligious Europe to look
back to its intellectual roots in Christian monastic culture.
“What gave
Roman Catholics make up about 60 percent of the
French population of 65 million. But fewer than 10 percent of French Catholics
say they attend Mass regularly.
“At this moment in history, when cultures continue
to cross paths more frequently, I am firmly convinced that a new reflection on
the true meaning and importance of secularism is now necessary,” the pope said
at a ceremony earlier Friday with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee
Palace. He used the word “laicite” which denotes separation of church and
state.
But the pope proposed a “distinction between the
political realm and that of religion in order to preserve both the religious
freedom of citizens and the responsibility of the state toward them.” He
distinguished the state’s legislative and social duties from religion’s role
“for the formation of conscience” and the “creation of a basic ethical
consensus in society.”
The pope is visiting France almost exactly two
years after he made a speech in Regansburg, Germany, in which he angered many
Muslims by quoting a 14 century Byzantine emperor as saying that the Prophet
Muhammad brought “things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread
by the sword the faith he preached.”
“That’s the past,” said Mohammed Moussaoui, the
president of
Meeting privately with French Jews on Friday, the
pope spoke vehemently about the church’s opposition to “every form of
anti-Semitism which can never be theologically justified,” according to a
transcript of his remarks.
Speaking before the pope at the
BENEDICT
XVI URGES REDEFINING STATE-CHURCH DIVIDE IN
In his speech to the bishops, the pope also
amplified his call for a redefinition of “laicite” the
divide between church and state, that he first raised at a visit to the
“The social and political presuppositions of past
mistrust or even hostility are gradually disappearing, “the pope said. But, he
added, “The church does not claim the prerogative of the state.”
ISSUE STATEMENT United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki
Moon, at the Alliance of Civilizations Madrid Forum said; “Never in our
lifetime has there been a more desperate need for constructive and committed
dialogue, among individuals, among communities, among cultures, among and
between nations.” A writer in another setting has said, “The warning signs are
clear: unless we establish genuine dialogue within and among all kinds of
belief, ranging from religious fundamentalism to secular dogmatism, the conflicts
of the future will probably be even more deadly.”
Genuine dialogue in
Inter-religious,
inter-cultural dialogue need to understand international human rights standards
on freedom of religion or belief may be the best way to protect religious and
non-religious core beliefs, principles, national histories and local cultures.
The goal to eliminate all forms of intolerance and discrimination based on
religion or belief is slowly becoming a reality, practical and necessary, under
international human rights law.
In 1968 the United Nations deferred work on an
International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Religious
Intolerance, because of its apparent complexity and sensitivity. In the
twenty-first century, a dramatic increase of intolerance and discrimination on
grounds of religion or belief is motivating a worldwide search to find
solutions to these problems. This is a challenge calling for enhanced dialogue
by States and others; including consideration of an International Convention on
Freedom of Religion or Belief for protection of and accountability by all
religions or beliefs.
The Tandem Project Concept, Separation
of Religion or Belief and State (SOROBAS) supports
the U.N. Human Rights Council in their responsibility to monitor implementation
of the 1981 U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and
of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. The Tandem Project using
international human rights law reviews the actions of governments and civil
society living under separation of church and state, state church, theocratic
or other legal frameworks. The concept is equal and fair protection for all theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not
to profess any religion or belief in tandem with the rule of law and
international human rights standards on freedom of religion or belief.
The Tandem Project
Dialogue & Education UPR Objectives: (1) Use International Human Rights Standards
on Freedom of Religion or Belief as a platform for genuine dialogue on
deeply-held principles and values within and among nations, all religions and
other beliefs. (2) Adapt these human rights standards to early childhood
education, teaching children, from the very beginning, that their own religion
is one out of many and that it is a personal choice for everyone to adhere to
the religion or belief by which he or she feels most inspired, or to adhere to
no religion or belief at all.1
Inter-religious, inter-cultural dialogues focus on
fundamental values shared virtually universally by public, private, religious
and non-religious organizations to change how our cultures view differences,
how we often behave toward one another and to forestall the reflexive hostility
we see so vividly around the world.
Surely one of the best hopes for the future of
humankind is to embrace a culture in which religions and other beliefs accept
one another, in which wars and violence are not tolerated in the name of an
exclusive right to truth, in which children are raised to solve conflicts with
mediation, compassion and understanding.
International Human
Rights Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief are international law and
universal codes of conduct for peaceful cooperation, respectful competition and
resolution of conflicts. The identification of achievements, best practices,
challenges and constraints on these standards should be part of the follow-up
to the France Universal Periodic Review.
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STANDARDS: http://www.tandemproject.com/program/81_dec.htm
Submit information under the Eight Articles and
sub-paragraphs of the 1981 U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of
Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief by using The Tandem
Project Country & Community Database.
http://www.tandemproject.com/databases/forms/card.htm
The Tandem Project: a non-governmental organization founded
in 1986 to build understanding, tolerance and respect for diversity, and to
prevent discrimination in matters relating to freedom of religion or belief.
The Tandem Project, a non-profit NGO, has sponsored multiple conferences,
curricula, reference materials and programs on Article 18 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – Everyone shall have the right to freedom
of thought, conscience and religion - and 1981 United Nations Declaration on
the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on
Religion or Belief.
The Tandem Project initiative
is the result of a co-founder representing the World Federation of United
Nations Associations at the United Nations Geneva Seminar, Encouragement
of Understanding, Tolerance and Respect in
Matters Relating to Freedom of Religion or Belief, called by the UN
Secretariat in 1984 on ways to implement the 1981 UN Declaration. In 1986, The
Tandem Project organized the first NGO International Conference on the 1981 UN
Declaration.
The Tandem Project
Executive Director is: Michael M. Roan, mroan@tandemproject.com.
Documents Attached:
Freedom of Religion or Belief and Other Reports in 2nd Universal Periodic Review
The Tandem Project is a UN NGO in
Special Consultative Status with the
Economic and Social Council of
the United Nations