Sikhs take turban rights case to United Nations

Rights group want ban on religious apparel in public schools repelead

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A Sikh rights group asked a U.N. human rights committee on Monday to declare that France violated a student’s rights by expelling him for wearing a turban and to recommend repealing the law that led to it.

France passed a law in 2004 banning children in state primary and secondary schools from wearing conspicuous religious symbols, including Muslim headscarves, Jewish yarmulkes, large Christian crosses and Sikh turbans.

See Also

France Senate adopts law banning religious apparel in public schools

France high court upholds the ban on turbans in schools

Bikramjit Singh was 18 when he was expelled from school in France in 2004 for refusing to remove his turban, according to a group called United Sikhs, which held a civil rights Conference in New York near the United Nations on Monday.

Stephen Grosz, a lawyer for the group, said United Sikhs had filed an official communication with a General Assembly committee dealing with human rights about Singh and two other Sikhs who have been unable to renew French identity documents because they refused to remove their turbans for photographs.

“What we’re asking the committee to do is to find that the French state has violated Bikramjit Singh’s rights and to recommend that measures be taken to rectify the decision,” Grosz said on a conference call from London.

“That effectively would mean a repeal of the law and its replacement by something else,” he said.

The rights committee passes only non-binding motions or recommendations which carry only moral weight.

One of the other cases was already brought to the European Court of Human Rights, where it was dismissed last month.

Shingara Mann Singh, 52, a French national, lost a series of appeals in France against the refusal by authorities to issue a new driving license with a photograph of him wearing a turban, before taking his case to the Strasbourg-based court.

In the third case, pensioner Ranjit Singh was unable to access health care since 2002 because French authorities would not renew his residence card unless he removed his turban for a photograph, United Sikhs said.
[...]

Read Another Article

Ninth Circuit Court Rejects Arguments That Children’s Religious School Tuition Should Be Tax Deductible
Woman sentenced in Ponzi scheme that targeted religious leaders and ministries

Related News Articles Topic(s): Sikhism Related Tags / Keywords: Sikhism Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Sikhism Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Sikh holy man wins right to libel action appeal Sikhs strive to keep language alive Religion News Roundup: Dahn Yoga, Virgin Mary as an exorcist, yoga retreats, pagan cops Sikh family accuses deputies of abuse, taunts Europe court says no to turban on Sikh’s driving licence UK: Sikh teenager wins religious bangle discrimination case Sikh schoolgirl, 14, fights for right to wear bangle Musician who sued Walt Disney World gets support from national Sikh group UK police force blows 100,000 Pounds on failed search to find a helmet to cover Sikh officer’s turban

Search Religion News Blog