A/HRC/18/2 244. The Islamic Republic of Iran regretted the fact that most of the recommendations it had made had been rejected, although they aimed at protecting the human rights of ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities. It referred to the 2011 anti-Hijab law, which violated the right of women to practise their religion and aggravated the Islamophobic atmosphere prevailing in Belgium. It called upon Belgium to abolish that law. It remained concerned at the situation of racism and racial discrimination and the rights of migrants and other minorities in Belgium. It urged Belgium to reconsider its position and to accept the recommendations on these issues. 245. Romania welcomed the fact that Belgium had prepared its national report with the broad participation of civil society. Belgium had the legal and institutional mechanisms to meet its current human rights challenges. Romania had taken note of the institutional and legal framework aimed at combating discrimination and human trafficking and protecting the rights of the child. It welcomed Belgium’s acceptance to create a national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles. 3. General comments made by other relevant stakeholders 246. The Islamic Human Rights Commission expressed concern at the discrimination experienced by women wearing face veils or a headscarf. It stated that banning girls from wearing a headscarf at schools might lead to increased educational exclusion and social deprivation. It added that sanctioning women for wearing a face veil in public spaces by fines or imprisonment was in violation of the Constitution of Belgium. While recalling the consistent jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on the right to freedom of religion, it added that Belgium should comply with human rights standards to which it was party. It urged Belgium to give its citizens the right to practise religion without Government interference or approval, and to repeal all unreasonable laws against women. 247. The European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Federation (ILGAEurope) encouraged Belgium to eliminate discrimination based on gender identity by developing awareness-raising programmes and addressing this issue in school curricula. It also recommended that Belgium should explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identity as grounds for discrimination in its Constitution. ILGA-Europe also recommended that Belgium should abolish the requirement of surgery leading to sterilization for transsexual people. It encouraged Belgium to share best practices on the fight against discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, and to continue to apply the Yogyakarta Principles. 248. The International Commission of Jurists welcomed the fact that Belgium had accepted many recommendations on the rights of asylum seekers. Their implementation warranted urgent attention. The Commission recalled that the European Court of Human Rights had ruled that Belgium had violated the principle of non-refoulement in automatically transferring an asylum seeker to Greece. While Belgium had suspended this procedure in October 2010, it should take steps to formally abolish mechanisms of automatic expulsion that failed to take into consideration the principle of non-refoulement. It also urged Belgium to reconsider its position on the ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. 249. Amnesty International welcomed Belgium’s commitment to involve civil society in its follow-up to the universal periodic review. It also welcomed the acceptance of the majority of the recommendations and the commitment to present a progress report in 2013. Amnesty International applauded Belgium for having accepted the establishment of a national human rights institution and welcomed its support for the ratification of the Optional Protocols to the Convention against Torture and to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It noted that Belgium had accepted the 114 GE.12-17756