By  Gary Raynaldo           DIPLOMATIC TIMES 

The UN Human Rights Committee said on Tuesday that France’s ban on the niqab, the full-body Islamic veil, was a violation of human rights and called on the country to review the legislation.  The U.N. body found that  the  2010 French law banning full-face coverings in public 
disproportionately targets the minority of Muslim women who wear them. Following complaints by two French Muslim women, fined for wearing a full-body veil, a UN Committee of independent human rights experts ruled in their favour on Tuesday, stating  that their freedom to practice their religion had been infringed.   
The Committee of 18 independent experts from around the world, stated in two rulings, that the right to practice one’s religion includes the wearing of distinctive clothing and head coverings.

“The State has not demonstrated how the full veil presents a threat in itself for public security to justify this absolute ban,” the decision read, adding that the French Government had not adequately explained why hiding one’s face is forbidden for religious reasons,while it is authorized in other contexts such as sports, or artistic settings.

The Niqab — which is a full-body veil that has an opening for the eyes

In addition, the U.N. Committee found that the ban, rather than protecting fully veiled women, could have the effect of confining them to their homes, impeding their access to public services and marginalizing them.

 
The UN body found that France’s ban was “too sweeping” and that French officials hadn’t adequately explained why it was necessary to ban such articles of clothing.  

The panel, comprised of 18 independent human rights experts from around the world, emphasized that their decision wasn’t intended as a challenge France’s secular constitution.

“The decisions are not directed against the notion of secularity, nor are they an endorsement of a custom which many on the committee, including myself, regard as a form of oppression of women,” committee chairman Yuval Shany said.