PARIS: Amnesty International has called on French law-makers to reject a draft law banning the wearing of full face veils in public that was adopted by the government and put before Parliament on Wednesday. The proposal, which is being put forward by the French government after a prolonged public debate on the wearing of Islamic face veils, would prohibit the wearing anywhere in public of any form of clothing intended to conceal one's face. “A complete ban on the covering of the face would violate the rights to freedom of expression and religion of those women who wear the burqa or the niqab in public as an expression of their identity or beliefs,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's expert on discrimination in Europe. Breach of the law would be punishable by a fine of up to €150 and/or the requirement to complete a community rehabilitation program. The move comes only a few weeks after the lower chamber of the Belgian parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a similar ban. The Council of State (Conseil d'Etat), France's top legal advisory body, has already expressed serious reservations about the compatibility of such a general ban with the French constitution and the country's obligations under international human rights law. “To ignore the advice of the Council of State on this issue would be to betray an indifference to human rights law in general and the rights of Muslim women who choose to wear full face veils in particular,” said John Dalhuisen. The French government has argued that the ban is necessary for public safety and to protect women from being pressurized into wearing full face veils. “Legitimate security concerns can be met by targeted restrictions on the complete covering of the face in well-defined high risk locations. “Individuals may also be required to reveal their faces when objectively necessary, for instance for identity checks. French law already allows for such limited restrictions,” said John Dalhuisen. States do have an obligation to protect women against pressure or coercion in their homes or communities to wear full face veils. They should do this by taking steps to combat gender stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes and, where appropriate, by intervening in individual cases through criminal or family law. A generally applicable ban would restrict the rights of those who freely choose to wear full face veils, while punishing those who do so against their will. “For those women who are being coerced into wearing full face veils, the ban means they will either face state punishment if they go out in public – or more likely – they will be confined to their homes. This is counter-productive.” said John Dalhuisen. “Some people may well find the wearing of full-face veils objectionable, or contrary to established social customs. However, human rights law is quite clear on this – the disquiet of one person cannot be used to justify a restriction on the freedom of expression of another,” said John Dalhuisen. “Much of the public debate in France on the wearing of full face veils has focused on the need to defend French Republican values. Amnesty International does not believe that such important values as liberty, equality and fraternity can be advanced by such a discriminatory restriction,” said John Dalhuisen. Amnesty
