Human Rights Conference in the European Parliament on Sikh issues

Amritsar, Punjab:  In a follow up from the protest outside United Nations office in Geneva on November 1, the Sikh Federation (UK) has now organized a Human Rights Conference in the European Parliament in Brussels on November 4, informed National Press Secretary, Sikh Federation, Gurjeet Singh on Friday.

The conference will be in two parts, the first part will mark the 29th anniversary of the anti Sikh riots while the second part would relate to challenges to the Sikh identity across Europe, said he adding that the conference in Brussels would be timely as it would share Sikh concerns with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from across Europe.

He informed that around 1 million Sikhs live in Europe and have unnecessarily experienced increasing challenges since 9/11. “The emphasis will be on the experience of Sikhs in France and Belgium for turban wearing Sikhs ” said he.

The UN Human Rights Committee has now ruled in favour of Sikhs and against France in three separate cases in the last two years. European Union member states would be urged to put pressure on France as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to respect and find a way of implementing the rulings of the UN Human Rights Committee with respect to the wearing of the Sikh turban. He informed that Sikhs from around 10 countries in Europe – UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Austria and Greece – were expected to take part in the conference.

Source: TOI