THE TANDEM PROJECT
UNITED NATIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS,
FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF
Separation of Religion or Belief
& State
Second Session U.N. Human
Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (5-19 May, 2008)
Available in other languages: click here if the language box does not display.
UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW
The Universal Periodic
Review (UPR) is a unique process launched by the UN Human Rights Council in
2008 to review the human rights obligations and responsibilities of all UN
Member States by 2011. Click to open an Introduction to the Universal Periodic
Review and Current News:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRMain.aspx
The France
Universal Periodic Review was held by the UN Human Rights Council on
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/frsession2.aspx
The primary human rights
instruments on freedom of religion or belief for the Universal Periodic Review
are:
General Comment 22 on
Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/9a30112c27d1167cc12563ed004d8f15?Opendocument
The 1981 UN Declaration: http://www.tandemproject.com/program/81_dec.htm
National Reports for the
Universal Periodic Review seldom has enough information
to assess progress on Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights –Everyone has the right to freedom of religion or belief, and
the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. The Tandem Project
Follow-up is analogous to twenty-seven Community
Strategies drafted in 1986 for discussion with international
conference participants: http://www.tandemproject.com/tolerance.pdf.
THE TANDEM PROJECT FOLLOW-UP
(1) Develop model
local-national-international integrated approaches to human rights and freedom of
religion or belief, appropriate to the legal systems and cultures of each
country, Example: (2) Use International Human Rights
Standards on Freedom of Religion or Belief for inclusive and genuine
integration, dialogue and education, (3) Use the standards on freedom of
religion or belief for education curricula, “teaching children, from the very
beginning, that their own religion is one out of many and 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: Example: Universal Periodic
Review & Freedom of Religion or Belief
2:
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Tandem Project Follow-up to the France Universal Periodic Review
recommends a new paradigm updating the principle of laicite
or secularism, as President Sarkozy says, a “positive secularism” (attachments
below) for France, taking the principle of Separation of Church and State to
another level, Separation of Religion or Belief &
State, for the twenty-first century.
The Universal Periodic
Review National Report signifies the importance
of this principle in a section on Freedom of Religion or Belief. In the
Universal Periodic Review Inter-active Dialogue
France discusses the French principle of laicite or
secularism adopted in a 1905 French law on Separation of Church and State, and
Act No. 2004-228 of 15 March 2004 concerning the wearing of symbols or clothing
indicating religious affiliation in State primary, middle and secondary
schools, and more recently in the public square regarding swimming in religious
clothing.
Read (below) the report
of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief 2005 Country
Visit to
The Tandem Project
respectfully encourages
The Tandem Project
supports a call for an International Convention on Freedom of Religion or
Belief, deferred since 1968 by the United Nations. Freedom of Religion or
Belief is an inviolable fundamental right, a religious-philosophical principle
of democracy and human rights ethics as expressed through international law,
for all religious and non-religious believers, at international, national and
local levels.
Stakeholder Summary Information: Click on footnote 3 to read
recommendation letters.
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRFRStakeholdersInfoS2.aspx
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/religion/visits.htm
______________________________________________________________________________________________
ATTACHMENTS
Excerpt: Country Visit to
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 this 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 France, and Benedict XVI Urges
Redefining State-Church Divide in France, by Rachel Donadio, New
York Times, September 13-15, 2008
POPE AND PRESIDENT ADDRESS
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.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR BELIEF
1.
The country has
an area of 211,209 square miles and a population of 63.71 million.
In accordance
with its definition of separation of state and religion, the Government does
not keep statistics on religious affiliation. According to a January 2007 poll,
51 percent of respondents indicate they are Catholic, even if they never attend
religious services. Another 31 percent of those polled state that they have no
religious affiliation. Among Catholics, only 8 percent attend Mass weekly, one
third do so "occasionally," and 46 percent attend "only for
baptisms, weddings, and funerals." Only 52 percent of declared Catholics
believe that the existence of God is "certain or possible." There are
an estimated
2.
The Constitution
provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this
right in practice. A long history of conflict between religious groups and
between the Church and the Republic led the state to break its ties to the
Catholic Church early in the last century and adopt a strong commitment to
maintaining a totally secular public sector. The 1905 law on the separation of religion
and state, the foundation of existing legislation on religious freedom,
prohibits discrimination on the basis of faith. Of the country's 10 national
holidays, 5 are Christian holy days.
Religious
organizations are not required to register but may apply for tax-exempt status
or gain official recognition if they so wish. The Government defines two
categories under which religious groups may register: associations cultuelles
(associations of worship, which are exempt from taxes) and associations culturelles
(cultural associations, which are normally not exempt from taxes). Associations
in these two categories are subject to certain management and financial
disclosure requirements. An association of worship may organize only religious
activities, defined as liturgical services and practices. A cultural
association may engage in profit-making activity. Although a cultural
association is not exempt from taxes, it may receive government subsidies for
its cultural and educational operations, such as schools. Religious groups
normally register under both of these categories; the Mormons, for example, run
strictly religious activities through their association of worship and operate
a school under their cultural association.
3.
The United
Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief,
In 2004 the
European Commission on Human Rights ruled that the law banning religious
symbols in school did not violate the freedom of religion. Some Christian,
Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh leaders, human rights groups, and foreign governments
voiced concerns about the law's potential to restrict religious freedom.
Minority religious groups cite a growing body of precedent-setting case law
from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which enforces the Convention
for the Protection of Human Rights and is binding on all Council of Europe
members, to contest unequal treatment under law. Critics of the Government's
distinction between religions and "cults" (sectes) note that, in
support of a policy of "true religious pluralism," the ECHR has
instructed governments to remain neutral and impartial, finding that the
"the right to freedom of religion as guaranteed under the Constitution
excludes any discretion on the part of the state to determine whether religious
beliefs or the means used to express such beliefs are legitimate."
4.
Although there
were anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic incidents during the period covered by this
report, prominent societal leaders took positive steps to promote religious
freedom and to maintain open lines of communication among different faith
communities. The Council of Christian Churches in
Please see the
Anti-Semitism section above for reports of anti-Semitic incidents. Throughout
2007 there have been weekly reports in the press of cemetery desecrations of
all religious groups. On
Members of the
Arab-Muslim community experienced incidents of harassment and vandalism.
However, the situation improved in 2006, during which, according to the NCCHR,
there were 344 racist (often including anti-Islamic) acts recorded, a decrease
from the 471 committed in 2005. The trend was also reflected in a drop in the
number of violent incidents (64 in 2006 as opposed to 88 in 2005). Far-right
extremists were responsible for 26 of the 42 violent racist incidents aimed at
individuals of North African origin. The Government recorded 192 threats made
against individuals of North African origin, of which 65 were explicitly
anti-Islamic (up from 56 such threats in 2005). Violent racist incidents on the
Negative
societal attitudes regarding the wearing of Muslim headscarves may have led to
incidents of discrimination against Muslim women. Members of the Muslim
community again alleged that, when wearing headscarves, they were refused
service by private businesses. Media reports indicated that some companies
discouraged female employees from wearing the headscarf or encouraged them to
wear a bandanna in its place.
Source:
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90175.htm
Links to State Department
sites are welcomed. Unless a copyright is indicated, information on the State
Department’s main website is in the public domain and may be copied and
distributed without permission. Citation of the U.S. State Department as source
of the information is appreciated.
Documents Attached:
France - Universal Periodic Review & Freedom of Religion or Belief.
France - Secularism & Separation of Church and State
Limits on Freedom of Religion or Belief - Protecting Morals
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
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.”
Genuine dialogue on human
rights and freedom of religion or belief calls for respectful discourse,
discussion of taboos and clarity by persons of diverse beliefs. Inclusive
dialogue includes people of theistic, non-theistic and
atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief.
The warning signs are clear, unless there is genuine dialogue ranging from
religious fundamentalism to secular dogmatism; conflicts in the future will
probably be even more deadly.
In 1968 the UN deferred
work on an International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of
Religious Intolerance because of its complexity and sensitivity. Violence,
suffering and discrimination based on religion or belief in many parts of the
world is greater than ever. It is time for
a UN Working Group to draft what they deferred in 1968, a comprehensive core
international human rights treaty-a United Nations Convention on Freedom of
Religion or Belief. United
Nations History – Freedom of Religion or Belief
The challenge to
religions or beliefs at all levels is awareness, understanding
and acceptance of international human rights standards on freedom of
religion or belief. Leaders, teachers and followers of all religions or
beliefs, with governments, are keys to test the viability of inclusive and
genuine dialogue in response to the UN Secretary General’s urgent call for constructive
and committed dialogue.
The Tandem Project title,
Separation of Religion or Belief and State (SOROBAS), reflects the far-reaching scope of UN
General Comment 22 on Article 18, International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, Human Rights Committee (CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4). The General Comment on
Article 18 is a guide to international human rights law for peaceful
cooperation, respectful competition and resolution of conflicts:
http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/9a30112c27d1167cc12563ed004d8f15?Opendocument
Surely one of the best
hopes for 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.
The Tandem Project is a non-governmental organization (NGO)
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 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 is a UN NGO in
Special Consultative Status with the
Economic and Social Council of
the United Nations