A/HRC/15/53 48. On 19 August 2009, a town in northern Italy reportedly banned women from wearing the “burqini” favoured by conservative Muslim women. The mayor of the town allegedly said that women wearing them to pools or the beach would be subjected to a 500 euro fine. He added that “the sight of a ‘masked woman’ could disturb small children, not to mention problems of hygiene”. 49. On 3 November 2009, in the Lautsi v. Italy case — where the applicant was contesting the display of Catholic crucifixes in Italian classrooms — the European Court of Human Rights unanimously concluded that there had been a violation of article 2 of Protocol No. 1 to and article 9 on the freedom of thought, conscience and religion of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.7 According to the Court, the compulsory display of a symbol of a given confession in the exercise of public duties, in specific situations that came under Government control, especially in classrooms, restricted the rights of parents to educate their children in conformity with their convictions, and the right of children to believe or not to believe. Such restrictions were incompatible with the State’s duty to observe neutrality in the exercise of public duties, and in particular in the field of education. 50. On 29 November 2009, Switzerland accepted a popular initiative banning the construction of new minarets. The Constitution of Switzerland has therefore been amended to include a new article stating that “the construction of minarets is prohibited in Switzerland”. 51. In January 2010, the Indian Supreme Court ordered that niqab-clad women cannot be issued voter identity cards, rejecting the argument that religion prohibits them from lifting their veils. 52. In March 2010, the province of Quebec, Canada, adopted legislation which stipulates that Muslim women will need to uncover their faces when dealing with Quebec Government services or when they are provincial employees. 53. On 27 March 2010, an “anti-minaret conference” was reportedly held in the Ruhr Valley city of Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The gathering was called to look into the possibility of a European Union-wide minaret ban. At the end of the Conference, the extreme-right parties attending the event allegedly said they were going to begin a campaign for a European referendum imposing a minaret ban. The parties supporting the referendum campaign were the Belgian Vlaams Belang and the Austrian Freedom Party. 54. On 8 April 2010, the High Court of Bangladesh issued a verdict ordering the Ministry of Education to ensure that women who are employed in public institutions are not required to wear the veil or hijab against their will. 55. On 29 April 2010, the Belgian Lower House of Parliament voted in favour of a bill which would ban wearing the full veil in any public space, including on the street. However, the proposed bill does not specifically mention the niqab, referring more generally to any clothing that conceals the face. Discussions are ongoing and the Senate still needs to approve the bill. 56. On 4 May 2010, the Parliament of the canton of Aargau, Switzerland, voted to introduce a motion in the country’s Federal Assembly that would forbid people from wearing the niqab in public places. 57. On 23 June 2010, the Spanish Senate adopted a motion which urges the Government to proceed with rules to prohibit the public use of the niqab. 7 12 Application No. 30814/06. Available from http://echr.coe.int/echr/en/hudoc. GE.10-14999