E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.4 page 2 Summary The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief carried out a visit to France from 18 to 29 September 2005 and highlights in her report that the Government of France generally respects the right to freedom of religion or belief, as it is protected by the relevant international treaties. However, there are some areas of concern. While she recognizes that the organization of a society according to the principle of the separation of Church and State guarantees the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that, in some circumstances, the selective interpretation and rigid application of this principle has operated at the expense of the above-mentioned right. In particular, she welcomes the current debate within French society about the Law on the Separation of Church and State of 1905 (loi concernant la séparation des Eglises et de l’Etat), and considers that a thorough assessment of its application in the present context of increased religious pluralism is a necessary process in a democratic society based on the rule of law. Concerning the question of the cult groups and certain new religious movements or communities of belief the (sectes), the Special Rapporteur considers that the policy of the Government may have contributed to a climate of general suspicion and intolerance towards the communities included in a list established further to a parliamentary report, and has negatively affected the right to freedom of religion or belief of some members of these communities or groups. However, the Special Rapporteur noted that in recent years the French authorities have adopted a more balanced approach to this phenomenon by adjusting their policy, including through the transformation of the Inter-ministerial Mission to Combat “Sectes” (Mission interministérielle de lutte contre les sectes) (MILS) into the inter-ministerial mission to monitor and combat sectarian abuse (Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires, or MIVILUDES). She will nevertheless continue to closely monitor the various initiatives being carried out by MIVILUDES. The Special Rapporteur is of the opinion that the 2004 legislation on the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols in public schools is appropriate insofar as it is intended, in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child, to protect the autonomy of minors who may be pressured or forced to wear a headscarf or other religious symbols. However, the law denies the rights of those minors who have freely chosen to wear a religious symbol to school as part of their religious belief. Moreover, the implementation of the law by educational institutions has led, in a number of cases, to abuses that provoked humiliation, in particular amongst young Muslim women. According to many voices, such humiliation can only lead to the radicalization of the persons