“Nobody should dictate to women what to wear, or what to not wear,” said United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) spokesperson Marta Hurtado on Tuesday, following France’s decision to ban the Hijab for French athletes participating in the 2024 Olympic Games to be held in France.
In response to a question from a reporter from Anadolu at the UN’s regular press briefing in Geneva, asking whether Sunday’s statements by French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra were consistent with international law, Hurtado said that “restrictions on expressions of religion or beliefs,” such as the choice of clothing, are only acceptable under very limited circumstances, “that address legitimate concerns of public safety, public order, or public health or morals.”
“Any state party to the [Universal Declaration of Human Rights] convention, in this case France, has an obligation to take measures” to abide by it. When pressed as to whether France’s Hijab ban violates international law, she added, “In general, the Office of the ONCHR believes that no one should tell women” what they should or should not wear.”
Last Sunday, French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra announced in an interview with France 3 that French athletes will not be allowed to wear hijabs during the 2024 Olympics to be held in Paris, notwithstanding that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allows headscarves to be worn during the competition.
The Minister stated that France’s position rests on a recent decision by the Council of State that expressed very clearly France’s adherence to a “strict regime of secularism”.
Last month, when France prohibited girls from wearing the abaya (a loose fitting robe) to school, Hurtado similarly reminded France during a UN press briefing of the circumstances under which it is permissible under international law to ban clothing.