The news that athletes in the French teams at the Paris Olympic Games to be organized in France in 2024 would be banned from wearing the hijab was announced in a broadcast attended by French Minister of Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera.

Discrimination on the grounds of religion, belief or sect is prohibited by the guaranteeing of the freedom of religion and conscience in Many international conventions, particularly the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). As emphasized in the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the UN Human Rights Council, freedom of religion and conscience as regulated in Article 9 of the ECHR includes the freedom to worship and to perform religious rituals, to use the symbols of one's religion, and to observe religious holidays and days of rest. Conformity with religion or belief, or the observance of the requirements of religion or belief, may include not only ceremonies but also certain customs relating to diet, the wearing of certain clothes, the wearing of the hijab (HREIT, Application Number: 2019/3404, Decision Number: 2020/26, para.29). In this context, it must be recognized that the hijab is also a form of expression within the scope of freedom of religion and belief. In addition, if a person is denied a service because they wear a hijab as a requirement of their belief, discrimination will be made on the basis of sex as well as religion and belief (HREIT, Evaluation Report on the Decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union dated 15.07.2021, 2023, Ankara, p. 35).

Pursuant to the article 3 of Law No. 6701, discrimination based on the grounds of “sex, race, colour, language, religion, belief, sect, philosophical or political opinion, ethnical origin, wealth, birth, marital status, health status, disability and age” has been prohibited. In subparagraph (m) of the first paragraph of Article 9 of the relevant Law, "following and assessing international developments in areas of human rights and non-discrimination" has been listed among the duties of the Institution.

In this context, our Institution, whose main mission is to guarantee the right to equal treatment of individuals based on human dignity and to prevent discrimination in the exercise of legally recognized rights and freedoms, strongly condemns the ban announced by the French Minister of Sports.

Respectfully announced to the public.