GENEVA – The U.N. human rights office says local bans in France on burkini swimwear amount to “a grave and illegal breach of fundamental freedoms” and a “stupid reaction” to recent extremist attacks.
OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville says the rights agency wants local officials to “immediately” lift the bans, saying they don’t increase security.
READ MORE: France’s top court strikes down burkini ban
A French high court has struck down on French town’s ban on the burkini, effectively invalidating such bans in about 30 towns, though many remain.
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Colville says such bans “fuel religious intolerance and the stigmatization of Muslims,” and “have only succeeded in increasing tensions.”
WATCH: Burkini ban social experiment tests attitudes on swimwear
He said people who wear burkinis – body-covering beachwear worn by some Muslim women – or any another clothing “cannot be blamed for the violent or hostile reactions of others.”
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