European Union's Top Court Has Deemed Kosher and Halal Slaughter Incompatible with Animal Welfare
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Table of Contents • Opinion: ECJ ruling to uphold ban on kosher, halal slaughter a disastrous decision • EU-CHINA: Advocacy for the Uyghur issue • Europe's Muslims are European. Stop outsourcing their plight to foreign leaders • Restrictions on religious freedom in Europe in the name of the fight against COVID-19 • 48 MEPs call upon the EU to appoint a Special Envoy on FoRB • EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement but 14 Protestants still in prison • EU Statement on the situation of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia • Churches-EU Dialogue: COMECE and CEC meet with the Croatian EU Presidency • The EU must work for Freedom of Religion or Belief for all Opinion: ECJ ruling to uphold ban on kosher, halal slaughter a disastrous decision Deutsche Welle (18.12.2020) - https://bit.ly/2WBcim0 - The European Union's top court has deemed kosher and halal slaughter incompatible with animal welfare. This is a grim day for religious freedom in Europe, writes Christoph Strack. Human Rights Without Frontiers FoRB Newsletter | European Union In Europe, leaders often laud the continent's Judeo-Christian heritage. Not only that, 75 years after the industrial mass murder of European Jews in the Shoa, German and European leaders celebrate the return of flourishing Jewish life on the continent. They welcome the fact that liberal, conservative and orthodox Jews are once more part of Europe's social fabric. But for how much longer, given the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that upheld a ban on kosher and halal slaughter in Belgium? The practice is only banned in two or three Belgian regions. Belgium's top court had called on the ECJ to determine whether the ban on kosher and halal slaughter — i.e. without stunning the animal — is compatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and its enshrined principle of religious freedom. The bloc's top court ruled the ban legal, dealing a blow to pious Jews and Muslims across Europe. Tolerance For decades, there have been heated political discussions in Europe over whether to outlaw ritual slaughters. Several courts have ruled on the issue as well — including in Germany. Within the past 20 years, Germany's constitutional court often examined the issue, reaching wise verdicts in favor of religious freedom. The court has upheld the ban on stun-free slaughter — but with exceptions that may apply for those who, for religious reasons, say they can only consume kosher or halal meat. This right, therefore, applies to Jews and Muslims alike, as this is a question of religious freedom broadly speaking. DW's religions expert Christoph Strack As European societies grow progressively secular, more and more people take offense to certain religious practices. This pertains to certain rituals, religious needs and sensitivities; religion is no longer taken as seriously as it once was. A recently planned protest march of coronavirus deniers and conspiracy theorists, for instance, was allowed to go ahead after being rebranded as a religious service. This makes a mockery of religion, even though some may have secretly admired the protesters for thinking on their feet. Measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak, and how they have been publicly communicated, have not always been easy to stomach for religious people. Sure, German Health Minister Jens Spahn, Foreign Minister Heiko Mass and Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht joining Berlin's Jewish community to light Chanukah candles — all while social distancing — sent a strong message of solidarity. Yet the introduction of Human Rights Without Frontiers FoRB Newsletter | European Union nighttime curfews in parts of Germany, even on Christmas Eve, has irked many Christians, for whom Christmas services are among the most cherished events of the year. Jews and Muslims join forces But back to kosher and halal slaughter. We should be able to tolerate people's religious practices. In this instance, animal welfare advocates are at loggerheads with religious representatives. Germany's top court, which has ruled on the issue, imposed strict limitations on ritual slaughters. It allows certain exceptions that allow religious people to be able to continue practicing their faith in Germany. Bans on such forms of animal slaughter in Belgium, and elsewhere, arose over debates over the way Islam is practiced in Europe. Individuals sought to impose tighter rules on Islam on the continent — yet also hit Europe's Jews. Muslim and Jewish representatives joined forces in challenging the Belgian ban in court. And several months ago, Pinchas Goldschmidt of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) and Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa of theMuslim World League even published a joint letter — replete with a joint letterhead — on the issue. Jews, again, forced out of Europe? Back then, Jewish leaders were worried that if EU judges upheld the Belgian ban on kosher slaughter, other countries could follow suit. They projected that this would compel thousands of Jews to leave Europe. Now, the ECJ has spoken on the matter. This is a very sad, indeed fateful, day for religious freedom in Europe. And by the way: Do not stress the absolute primacy of animal welfare and turn a blind eye to Europe's meat industry. Consulting the figures quickly shows that kosher and halal slaughter are a marginal issue compared to any one of the continent's meat processing plants, where livestock are pumped full of chemicals, industrially killed and processed. Granted, they are stunned before being killed. But this is merely to soothe one's conscience. This opinion piece was translated from German. Further reading European Court upholds Flemish restrictions on halal and kosher slaughter (Howard Friedman, Religion Clause) EU states can ban kosher and halal ritual slaughter, court rules (Arthur Neslen, Politico) Ban on ritual animal slaughter upheld by EU high court (Molly Quell, Courthouse News Service) In order to promote animal welfare in the contextof ritual slaughter, Member States may, without infringing the fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter, require a reversible stunning procedure which cannot result in the animal’s death (PDF) (Court of Justice of the European Union) EU states can require stunning before ritual slaughter (Associated Press) EU-CHINA: Advocacy for the Uyghur issue Speech on behalf of HR/VP Borrell at the European Parliament on forced labour and the situation of the Uighurs in Xinjiang Human Rights Without Frontiers FoRB Newsletter | European Union Madam President, Honourable Members of the European Parliament, EEAS (17.212.2020) - https://bit.ly/3p7IWIo - The European Union has spoken out clearly and repeatedly on the situation of Uighurs: expressing grave concerns about political re-education camps, surveillance, and restrictions on freedom of religion and belief. As High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell mentioned during the debate on the situation of Uighurs one year ago: “the policies applied to Xinjiang appear disproportionate to the stated aim of fighting against terrorism and extremism”. The conclusions of United Nations experts expressing serious concerns are, regretfully, still valid. During the past year, a number of reports have brought to light worrying allegations that Uighurs and other minorities in China are subject to forced labour and forced labour transfer schemes, as well as forced sterilisation and forced birth control. They add to the gravity and magnitude of concerns we already expressed. EU leaders raised these concerns in their meetings with Chinese leaders this year: at the EU-China Summit on 22 June and at the EU-China Leaders’ Meeting on 14 September. We also issued a comprehensive statement during the last UN Human Rights Council, under the ‘Item 4’ debate on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention. We clearly highlighted the need for meaningful access to the region for independent experts. We will continue to call on China to uphold its national and international obligations, and to respect human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities, especially in Xinjiang and Tibet. Defending human rights and combatting forced labour are priorities for the EU. As a key trading partner of the EU, China should ensure that business activities in its territory meet international standards on labour rights and responsible business conduct. We expect the Chinese authorities to implement those standards across all sectors of production and at all levels of supply chains. Responsible business practices by European companies working in China play a very important role. While the Commission is working on a legislative proposal on sustainable corporate governance, the EU already has mandatory standards in some sectors and actively promotes international guidelines. European companies are already encouraged to implement effective due diligence practices across their supply chains. The Commission and the European External Action Service will continue working with companies to underscore the importance of taking up international due diligence guidelines in all aspects, including human rights. The new EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, adopted on 7 December [2020], enables the EU to forcefully stand up for human rights. It allows the EU to target human rights violations and abuses worldwide, irrespective of where they occur. The regime does not contain any listings yet; however, we expect discussions on listings to start soon. I thank you all for your engagement in this debate and your contributions to further increase the awareness on this matter. Thank you. Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-200285 Human Rights Without Frontiers FoRB Newsletter | European Union Europe's Muslims are European. Stop outsourcing their plight to foreign leaders For EU leaders to seek solutions abroad to end prejudice against millions of their own citizens is insulting and meaningless. By Shada Islam The Guardian (13.11.2020) - https://bit.ly/376uDMO - Terror attacks in France and Austria have put Europe’s 25 million Muslims back in the spotlight.