The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is criticizing Switzerland’s vote to ban construction of minarets on Muslim places of worship. Swiss voters approved the measure Sunday in a referendum sponsored by two right-wing parties. Switzerland is home to some 400,000 Muslims and has just four minarets. On Tuesday, UN Human Rights office spokesperson Rupert Colville said the decision could violate international human rights treaties.

Rupert Colville: “Such a ban is discriminatory, deeply divisive and a thoroughly unfortunate step for Switzerland to take, and risks putting the country on a collision course with its international human rights obligations. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has said she hesitates to condemn a democratic vote, but she has no hesitation at all in condemning the anti-foreigner scare-mongering that has characterized political campaigns in a number of countries, including Switzerland, which helps produce results like this.”