France niqab ban violates human rights: UN committee say
The UN Human Rights Committee found that French law n ° 2010-1192, which bans full-face coverings such as the niqab or burqa, violates human rights.
The UN committee found that the 2010 law violated the human rights Mariana Hebbadj and Sonia Yaker, who brought complaints against the French government claiming violation of the right to religious freedoms protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The law in question states that: “No one may, in the public space, wear an outfit intended to conceal his face.” The women were both convicted under this law for wearing a niqab in public.
“The Committee was not persuaded by France’s claim that a ban on face covering was necessary and proportionate from a security standpoint or for attaining the goal of ‘living together’ in society,” they said.
The committee found for the women in two separate decisions, citing specifically to Covenant Articles 18 and 26 in their reasoning. The committee held that the law n ° 2010-1192 was in violation of both of these Articles.
Source: Jurist.org
