FEDERATION ANNOUNCE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK TO CO-ORDINATE
SIKH CAMPAIGNS
On the third anniversary of
9/11 the Sikh Federation (UK) announced at the National
Sikh Convention last week that it has been in discussions
and meetings with leading Sikh organisations in Europe,
the USA and Canada on the formation of an international
set up to co-ordinate activities worldwide on common
issues of concern.
The new set up will entail delegates meeting on a
rotational basis every three to four months, with
each meeting taking place in a different country.
This will be a learning process that will allow the
sharing of ideas, approaches and tactics on important
matters of common concern to Sikhs and the ways in
which these matters are being addressed at the national
level. International strategies allowing for a co-ordinated
approach will then be developed where it is assessed
that Sikhs lack an international voice and there is
a need to exert pressure, lobby and influence globally.
The aim is to share best practice and give Sikhs more
political clout at a national and international level.
One of the first key issues on the agenda will concern
the international challenge to the Sikh identity and
the need to safeguard and promote the Sikh way of
life. The challenges faced in the USA are different
to Canada, the law in France is not the same as the
UK, however Sikhs face similar difficulties throughout
the world. It is therefore important to assess the
situation in each country, consider how Sikhs are
taking matters forward, learn from approaches adopted
in other countries and develop mechanisms to improve
the position on safeguarding and promoting the Sikh
identity and way of life. In each case the strategy
will focus on the interaction between Sikhs and the
respective national governments and politicians and
the ways in which national governments help or hinder
in safeguarding and promoting greater awareness of
the Sikh identity.
One of the other key issues for the agenda will be
the international approach to highlighting human rights
abuses of the Sikhs and seeking action at an international
level against those responsible for perpetrating such
abuses. How to obtain the practical implementation
of the Sikhs right to self-determination and developing
an international strategy for this will be part of
this human rights agenda.
The new international set up will be known as the
International Sikh Coordination and Action Network
(I-SCAN), and the first meeting is likely to take
place later this year. Cities hosting I-SCAN in the
next two years are expected to include London, Paris,
Geneva, New York, Washington, San Francisco, Toronto
and Vancouver. Many of the lead Sikh organisations
in the UK, USA, Canada and other parts of Europe have
indicated an active involvement in I-SCAN. Representatives
of leading Sikh organisations wishing to send delegates
to meetings of I-SCAN are urged to contact Sukhvinder
Singh, Assistant General Secretary of the Sikh Federation
(UK) by emailing info@sikhfederation.com
