France´s ban on full-body Islamic veil violates human rights - U.N. rights panel

GENEVA: The U.N. Human Rights Committee said on Tuesday that France´s ban on the niqab, the full-body Islamic veil, was a violation of human rights.

By REUTERS

October 23, 2018

Hind Ahmas wears a niqab despite a nationwide ban on the Islamic face veil outside the courts where she arrived with the intention to pay a fine after she was arrested last May for wearing the niqab in public, in Meaux, east of Paris, September 22, 2011. REUTERS

GENEVA: The U.N. Human Rights Committee said on Tuesday that France´s ban on the niqab, the full-body Islamic veil, was a violation of human rights.

France had failed to make the case for its ban and ordered it to review the legislation, the committee said in a statement.

"In particular, 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," it said.

The committee, a panel of independent experts who oversee countries' compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, said France had 180 days to report back to say what actions it had taken.