Unveiled. A judicial assessment of the compatibility of France’s Concealment Act 2010-1192 with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 18 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women Article

Abstract: This judicial thesis is a literature-based thesis concerning France’s Concealment Act that forbids Muslim women from wearing the burqa and niqab in France’s public places. With specific focus on the Act’s judicial consistency this thesis explores the Act’s compatibility with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Article 18 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Article 5(a). This is accomplished by interpreting the two provisions, according to the treaty interpretation regulations established in Article 31 and 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Laws of the Treaties (VCLT). The question explored is: To what extent is France’s Concealment Act compatible with Article 18 of the International Covenant on the Civil and Political Rights and is required by Article 5(a) of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women? With the objective of answering this question, empirical data attained from literature, scholastic articles, news articles, Internet sources as well as provisions from human rights treaties are assessed. The interpreted human rights provisions are assessed together with the empirical data in order to discuss and answer the thesis question.This thesis shows that the wearing of the burqa and niqab is a religious command. They are a manifestaion of Islam, Muslm women’s code of conduct and an integral part of Islam and the women that don them. It also shows that laïcité is an illegitimate justification for the ban. In the conclusion it is maintained that the burqa and niqab ban, the Concealment Act, is not compatible with freedom of religion as established by ICCPR Article 18 nor does Article 5(a) of CEDAW require it. The ban is a derogation of ICCPR Article 18 and a violation of the freedom to have a religion and the freedom to manifest a religion. Furthermore, its measures do not establish prerequisites for the promotion of gender equality and Muslim women’s rights in their religion. This as it bans the veils from being worn in public places rather than targeting the reasons that supposedly makes them a symbol of female oppression.