May, 19 2010, 09:50am EDT
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Amnesty International Urges French Politicians to Reject Face Veil Ban
‘Such Important Values As Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’ Cannot ‘Be Advanced by Such a Discriminatory Restriction’
LONDON
Amnesty International is calling
on French lawmakers to reject a draft law banning the wearing of full face
veils in public that was adopted by the government and put before Parliament
today.
The proposal, which is being put forward
by the French government after a prolonged public debate on the wearing
of Islamic face veils, would prohibit the wearing anywhere in public of
any form of clothing intended to conceal one's face.
"A complete ban on the covering of the
face would violate the rights to freedom of expression and religion of
those women who wear the burqa or the niqab in public as an expression
of their identity or beliefs," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's
expert on discrimination in Europe. "Much of the public debate in
France has focused on the need to defend French Republican values. Amnesty
International does not believe that such important values as liberty, equality
and fraternity can be advanced by such a discriminatory restriction."
Breach of the law would be punishable by
a fine of up to 150 Euros and/or the requirement to complete a community
rehabilitation program. The move comes only a few weeks after the lower
chamber of the Belgian parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a similar
ban.
The Council of State (Conseil d'Etat), France's
top legal advisory body, has already expressed serious reservations about
the compatibility of such a general ban with the French constitution and
the country's obligations under international human rights law. "To ignore
the advice of the Council of State on this issue would be to belie an indifference
to human rights law in general and the rights of Muslim women who choose
to wear full face veils in particular," said Dalhuisen.
The French government has argued that the
ban is necessary for public safety and to protect women from being pressured
into wearing full face veils. "Legitimate security concerns can
be met by targeted restrictions on the complete covering of the face in
well-defined high risk locations. Individuals may also be required
to reveal their faces when objectively necessary, for instance for identity
checks. French law already allows for such limited restrictions,"
said Dalhuisen.
States do have an obligation to protect women
against pressure or coercion in their homes or communities to wear full
face veils. They should do this by taking steps to combat gender
stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes and, where appropriate, by intervening
in individual cases through criminal or family law. A generally applicable
ban would restrict the rights of those who freely choose to wear full face
veils, while punishing those who do so against their will.
"For those women who are being coerced into
wearing full face veils, the ban means they will either face state punishment
if they go out in public - or more likely - they will be confined to
their homes. This is counter-productive." said Dalhuisen. "Some
people may well find the wearing of full face veils objectionable, or contrary
to established social customs. However, human rights law is quite
clear on this - the disquiet of one person cannot be used to justify a
restriction on the freedom of expression of another."
Under international human rights law, restrictions
on freedom of expression and the manifestation of religion or belief are
permissible only when they are demonstrably necessary and proportionate
for the achievement of certain specific purposes permitted by international
law. The only legitimate purposes for such restrictions are to protect
certain public interests (national security or public safety, or public
order, health or morals) or the rights of others. Amnesty International
does not believe that a complete ban on the wearing of full face veils
in public is necessary to achieve any of these goals.
Amnesty International France addressed a
letter to the French Prime Minister on April 20 this year setting out the
organization's position on a generally applicable ban on the wearing of
full face veils. Amnesty International France also contributed to the deliberations
of the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights and shares
the position expressed in its opinion published on January 21, 2010, which
opposes a general prohibition on the wearing of full face veils.
Amnesty International is a global movement of millions of people demanding human rights for all people - no matter who they are or where they are. We are the world's largest grassroots human rights organization.
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'Tragic Outcome' for Gig Workers as California Supreme Court Hands Win to Uber, DoorDash
"Today's ruling only strengthens our demand for the right to join together in a union so that we can begin improving the gig economy for workers and our customers," the case plaintiff said.
Jul 25, 2024
Labor advocates on Thursday decried a ruling by the California Supreme Court upholding a lower court's affirmation of a state ballot measure allowing app-based ride and delivery companies to classify their drivers as independent contractors, limiting their worker rights.
The court's seven justices ruled unanimously in Castellanos v. State of California that Proposition 22, which was approved by 58% of California voters in 2020, complies with the state constitution. Prop 22—which was overturned in 2021 by an Alameda County Superior Court judge in 2021—was upheld in March 2023 by the state's 1st District Court of Appeals.
The business models of app-based companies including DoorDash, Instacart, Lyft, and Uber rely upon minimizing frontline worker compensation by categorizing drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. Independent contractors are not entitled to unemployment insurance, health insurance, or compensation for business expenses.
There are approximately 1.4 million app-based gig workers in California, according to industry estimates.
While DoorDash hailed Thursday's ruling as "not only a victory for Dashers, but also for democracy itself," gig worker advocates condemned the decision.
"Over the last three years, gig workers across California have experienced firsthand that Prop 22 is nothing more than a bait-and-switch meant to enrich global corporations at the expense of the Black, brown, and immigrant workers who power their earnings," plaintiff Hector Castellanos, who drives for Uber and Lyft, said in a statement.
"Prop 22 has allowed gig companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash to deprive us of a living wage, access to workers compensation, paid sick leave, and meaningful healthcare coverage," Castellanos added. "Today's ruling only strengthens our demand for the right to join together in a union so that we can begin improving the gig economy for workers and our customers."
Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, said that "we are deeply disappointed that the state Supreme Court has allowed tech corporations to buy their way out of basic labor laws despite Proposition 22's inconsistencies with our state constitution."
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The Gig Workers Rising campaign said on social media that "Uber and other app corporations spent $220 million to buy this law, and they did it by tricking Californians."
Prop 22's passage in November 2020 with nearly 59% of the vote was the culmination of what was by far the most expensive ballot measure in California history. App-based companies and their backers outspent labor and progressive groups by more than 10 to 1, with proponents pouring a staggering $204.5 million into the "yes" campaign's coffers against just $19 million for the "no" side.
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"If Uber really cared about good benefits and fair wages, it could make that happen tomorrow," the campaign added. "Instead, it has shown it would rather slash pay, bamboozle voters, and put drivers' lives and livelihoods in danger—all while promising $7 billion in stock buybacks to banks and billionaires."
Veena Dubal, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine who focuses on labor and inequality, toldCalMatters that Thursday's ruling was "a really tragic outcome," but "it's not the end of the road."
Dubal's sentiment was echoed by some California state legislators, who said the ruling presents an opportunity to act.
"While this decision is frustrating, it must also be motivating," said state Senate Labor Committee Chair Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D-28). "I'm more determined than ever to ensure that all workers—including our diverse and Black, Indigenous, and people of color-led gig workforce—have the basic protections of workers compensation, paid sick leave, family leave, disability insurance, and the right to form a union."
Prop 22 has served as a template for lawmakers in other states seeking to deny or limit basic worker rights, benefits, and protections.
In Massachusetts, app-based companies have been fighting for years to get a measure to classify drivers as contractors on the state ballot. In 2022, Lyft made the largest political donation in state history—$14.4 million—to a coalition funding one such proposal.
Last month, Uber and Lyft reached an agreement with the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a Democrat, to pay $175 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2020. As part of the deal, the companies also agreed to increase driver pay and provide paid sick leave, accident insurance, and some health benefits. The agreement does not address how app-based gig workers should be classified.
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March for Our Lives, which was launched after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, honored Harris with the group's first-ever endorsement on Wednesday, calling her "the right person to stand up for us and fight for the country we deserve."
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"Democrats are at a critical crossroads with young people," the coalition wrote to Harris on Thursday. "Polls showed Biden and Trump neck-and-neck among young voters."
ANew York Times/Siena College poll conducted July 22-24 shows Trump leading Harris 48% to 47% among likely voters and 48% to 46% among registered voters—differences that fall within the margin of error.
Forbesnoted Thursday that "Democrats are far more enthusiastic about Harris than they were Biden, the Times/Siena survey found, with nearly 80% of voters who lean Democrat saying they would like Harris to be the nominee, compared to 48% of Democrats who said the same about Biden three weeks ago."
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Looking beyond November, the groups told Harris—who could be the first Black woman and person of Asian descent elected to the country's highest office—that "you could be a historic president. Not just because of who you are, but what you can accomplish."
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After nearly two years of negotiations with video game giants and no deal that would protect performers from artificial intelligence, unionized voice and motion capture actors who work in video game development announced Thursday that they will go on strike starting at 12:01 am on Friday, July 26.
The performers are represented by Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), which last year won a contract for TV and film actors that included "unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation that will protect members from the threat of AI," after the union went on strike for four months.
The union has been negotiating on behalf of video game actors with major production companies including Disney Character Voices Inc., Activision Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc., and has won concessions over wages and job safety—but "AI protections remain the sticking point," said SAG-AFTRA on Thursday as the impending strike was announced.
Unionized actors want protections that would stop video game companies from training AI to replicate actors' voices or likeness without their consent and without compensating them.
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The strike was announced as more than 500 workers who help develop the popular World of Warcraft video game franchise voted to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA), with the games publisher, Blizzard Entertainment, recognizing the bargaining unit.
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