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UN Human Rights Committee Slams France for Turban Violation
PRESS RELEASE
Paris, France
The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has held that the Government of France has violated the religious freedom of Sikh-French national 57 year old Shingara Singh when he was asked to remove his turban for his passport photograph.
Sardar Shingara Singh, a French citizen since 1989, was unable to renew his passport in 2005 because the French authorities insisted, under a new measure, that he remove his turban for his ID photograph, which he refused to do.
The case was taken up by the United Sikhs legal team in French courts, following which they retained the law form of ‘O’Melveny & Myers LLP’ to file a communication on behalf of Shingara Singh to the UNHRC in December 2008.
The UNHRC, in its declaration dated September 26, 2013, made public last week, said that France has failed to demonstrate that the restriction imposed on Shingara Singh is actually necessary.
The Committee found that the restrictions result in a potential obstruction to his fundamental right to freedom of religion when he is required to appear in ID photos without the religious headwear he always wears, as he might thereafter be forced to take off his turban in public when going through ID checkpoints.
The Committee also observed that France had not explained why the act of wearing a turban covering only the upper portion of an individual’s head and forehead (but leaving the face clearly visible) makes it more difficult to identify the wearer, or why a bare headed ID photograph in Shingara Singh’s case would make it easier to ascertain his identity or to prevent fraud or forgery given that he wears his turban at all times when in public.
“The Committee therefore must conclude that the regulations requiring him to appear in his passport photographs ‘with the head uncovered’ is a disproportionate restriction that poses a threat to the author’s [Shingara Singh’s] freedom of religion and thereby constitutes, in the present instance, a violation of Article 18 of the Covenant,” according to an unofficial English translation of the Committee’s Views. [The Covenant was entered into force for France on 4 February 1981.]
The UNHRC’s views were adopted at the 108th Session of the Committee’s sitting.
“This is the third Turban case that the United Sikhs legal team has won at the UN since. These cases were filed against France in 2008, which shows that the international community recognises that the wearing of a turban by a Sikh is not only his/her religious duty but is a part of his/her identity.
“We have done our work to show that international law recognises the right to wear a turban in France. We now need to embark on a campaign to make France realise that it has to fulfil its obligations under international law to ensure that freedom of religion and belief is upheld for everyone in its country,” said Mejindarpal Kaur, International Legal Director for United Sikhs.
Shingara Singh, who has been struggling to conduct his life in France without an identity document, said: “I have been a French citizen for more than 20 years. I continue to be proud to be French but I fail to see how my country can be proud of its slogan of “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” if it cannot uphold its citizens’ fundamental right to religious freedom. I hope that the UNHRC’s decision will wake France up to its international obligations.”
To date, Shingara Singh‘s driver’s licence card too had been refused because of his refusal to bare his head for the ID photograph.
Courtesy: United Sikhs. Edited for sikhchic.com.
October 10, 2013
Conversation about this article
1: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), October 10, 2013, 3:18 PM.
The French here in Canada and in the 'motherland' seem to share a certain insecurity in regards to their culture. This insecurity manifests itself as a boastful ego and national pride, something which will most likely prevent France from taking any United Nations recommendations in regard to Sikh turbans. I find it interesting that they won't play by the United Nation's rules when it comes to this issue but they don't mind exercising their power on the United Nations Security Council. The French want to eat their cake and have it too.
2: Kaala (Punjab), October 13, 2013, 1:25 PM.
If you ask me, I will tell you why the English were victorious everywhere and whey the French were defeated everywhere, despite having comparable military capabilities. The answer lies in this turban issue. The answer lies in the French mentality. The answer lies in their actions. The English have moved ahead, whether in England or Canada or elsewhere, while the French are stuck in their past of repeated failures and defeat.