The French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights

The French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights is a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) as defined by the generic United Nations (UN) terminology. According to the UN, “it has become increasingly apparent that the effective enjoyment of human rights calls for the establishment of national infrastructures for their protection and promotion. Official human rights institutions have been set up in many countries around the world in recent years. While the tasks of such institutions may vary considerably from country to country, they share a common purpose [...] that is the effective implementation of human rights at the national level”, in complementarity with the international and regional human rights protection systems.

National human rights institutions have a hybrid status, given that they are created by States while remaining fully independent from them. Therefore, the former Secretary General of the French Commission qualifies national human rights institutions as “actors of a third type”.

Historical background of the French Commission

While NHRIs have developed largely in the 1990s, the French Commission on Human Rights was one of the first institutions to be created after the Second World War. Its creation was linked to a request by the UN Economic and Social Council for member states to consider “the desirability of establishing information groups or local human rights committees within their respective countries”. Under the impulse of René Cassin, one of the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a Commission was set up in France in 1947 with a restricted mandate: the Commission’s mandate at that time only focused on international human rights law. The Commission’s first task was actually to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, once the Declaration was adopted, the Commission’s scope of activities was really limited until 1984 when it was reactivated as a fully-fledged institution with the adoption of three decrees in 1984, 1986 and 1989: the Commission nationale consultative des droits de l’homme as we know it today was put into place.

Legal basis of the French Commission

• At the international level

• Paris Principles

Principles relating to the status and functioning of national institutions for protection and promotion of human rights called “the Paris principles” adopted in 1991 and endorsed by the UN General Assembly on 20th December 1993.
They deal in general terms with the mandate, statute, composition and organisation of NHRIs and identify four main principles which should govern any NHRI:
   independence
   pluralism and cooperation with civil society
   a large mandate (all human rights)
   adequate resources The “Paris principles” are necessary conditions for national institutions to be credible and effective. They condition the accreditation of national institutions by the International Coordinating Committee (ICC). The French Commission received full accreditation (status A) from the ICC first in 1999 and then in 2007.

• At the European level

A few texts directly deal, or simply mention, the role of NHRIs at the European level.

Council of Europe
• Recommendation No. R(97)14 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the establishment of independent national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights adopted by the Committee on 30 September 1997. • Resolution No (97)11 of the Committee of Ministers on cooperation between national human rights institutions of member states and between them and the Council of Europe adopted by the Committee on 30 September 1997.

European Union
• European Parliament Resolution on promotion and protection of fundamental rights: the role of national and European institutions, including the Fundamental Rights Agency (2005/2007(INI)).

• At the national level

The legal basis of the Commission has evolved since 1989: its existence is now established by law, and not only by decree. This was mainly done to put the Commission in conformity with the Paris Principles which state that “A national institution shall be given as broad a mandate as possible, which shall be clearly set forth in a constitutional or legislative text”. The law was only recently adopted, at the time when the Commission was going through the reaccredidation process before the International Coordinating Committee (sub-committee on accreditation) in 2007.

• Law n° 90-615 of 13th July 1990: this law is actually the first legislative text making direct reference to the Commission by giving it the task of producing an annual report on the fight against racism in France. Such report is made public every 21st of March.

• Law n°2007-292 of 5th March 2007: this is a very short text which only gives three elements:

   The mandate: According to the law, the French Commission’s role consists in advising and making proposals to the Government in the field of human rights and humanitarian actions. It can also make suggestions to the Parliament and the Government on measures that would further the promotion and protection of human rights. So, unlike the Human Rights Commission in Bangladesh, the Commission has no competence to deal with individual complaints and to visit places of detention. These competences belong to different institutions in France: the ombudsman examines individual complaints, and a prison controller (to) visits places of detention. It is important to bear in mind here that the function of the Commission is to prevent human rights violations by detecting shortcomings in the law and suggesting improvements “since efficiency lies in prevention and not only in solving problems” (resolution of the European Parliament).
   The independence principle: The Commission fulfils this role in total independence.
   The composition: The Commission is composed of representatives from human rights non-governmental organisations, qualified personalities and experts seating in international human rights organisations, representatives from trade unions, from the Ombudsman office, from two members of Parliament and one member of Social and Economic Council.

• Decree n°2007-1137 of 26th July 2007: the Commission is also regulated by a decree which provides more detailed elements on the mandate, the composition and the organisation of the Commission:
   Mandate: The Commission fulfils its role through the adoption of opinions and studies that are made public and sent to the Prime Minister and relevant ministries. The opinions and studies are made either at the request of the Government or on the Commission’s own initiative. They always contain clear recommendations to the authorities. In accordance with the Paris Principles (“A national institution shall be given as broad a mandate as possible”), the French Commission is endowed with a generalist and wide mandate including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as humanitarian laws and actions and new technologies, bioethics and the right to a healthy environment (3rd generation). The mandate also includes human rights education activities, and the release of an annual report on the state of racism in France.
   Composition: The members have a 3 years non removable mandate, they are nominated by the Prime Minister but the decision is made in consultation with the vice-president of supreme administrative court and presidents of supreme judicial court and budgetary court. Both non revocability of the mandate and the nomination process ensure the independence of the members. The renewal of the Commission’s members is currently taking place: there are now around 100 members but the new decree sets the number of members to 64 . This intends to alleviate the overall structure and make it more flexible.

This composition has two main objectives:

Pluralism through a wide representation of civil society: NGO members, as well as lawyers, judges, diplomats, trade unionists, international law experts, humanitarian action experts work together to provide an independent expertise on human rights which reflects the views of most parts of society. The Commission always seeks dialogue and consensus among its members.

Information sharing through constant and constructive dialogue with the authorities: representatives from the ministries participate in the work of the Commission but only in a consultative capacity that is with no right to vote. The Commission is a place that favours constructive debate with the authorities. Representatives from the ministries (most often ministry of foreign affairs, ministry of justice, home affairs, health ministry etc.) come to explain recent developments, current works, and the position of the Government on particular topics while the Commission expresses its concerns and uses this information to then draft analytical and concrete recommendations.

   Organisation: President: The President and two vice-presidents are chosen among the members of the Commission. Plenary Assembly: The Plenary Assembly is made up of all the members of the Commission, meets around six times a year to debate and adopt draft opinions and studies (majority vote). Bureau: The Bureau is made up of the President and the two vice-presidents and decides on the calendar and agenda of the meetings. Coordination Committee: The Coordination Committee is made up of the members of the Bureau, presidents and vice presidents of sub commissions and is in charge of the coordination of the work of the Commission as well as giving directions and making strategic choices for the Commission. Sub Commissions: the Sub Commissions are headed by a president and two vice presidents and meet once a month to discuss topics of concern, to listen to experts and representatives from ministries, and select issues which will need to be examined further. The preparation work for drafting opinions takes place either within the sub commission framework or in a ad hoc working group specifically set up to work on specific issues. Members of the Commission participate in one or the other sub commission depending on their expertise. The sub commissions are divided as follows: Human rights and changes in society; International issues; National issues; Human rights education, women, children and family rights; Humanitarian law and humanitarian action; Fight against racism and xenophobia; and a Group on European issue. Secretariat General: The Secretariat General made up of a Secretary General, three legal advisers and two administrative assistants, is responsible for coordinating the overall work, organising the different meetings of the sub commissions and the plenary, drafting the opinions in cooperation with the members.

• Activities of the French Commission

The activities of the French Commission can be divided into national and international activities, even though as we will see both activities are strongly interlinked. Activities have developed over time beyond what was originally foreseen in the texts.

• At the national level

At the national level, the main activity of the French Commission is to examine law proposals or draft bills and administrative provisions (either at the request of the Government or on its own initiative) and assess their conformity with human rights standards (international and European texts, national constitution).

To do so, it proceeds through hearings of ministries, but also experts and the civil society. Once an opinion is adopted, or when drafting the law, parliamentarians may also sometimes invite the Commission to express its concerns at hearings in the Parliament.

For example, the French Commission has worked a lot on prison issues: it firstly launched a reflection on the meaning of criminal sanctions for the individual and for the society as a whole looking more specifically into who should be sentenced, why should there be a sentence and how to decide on a sentence. This work was followed by a very developed opinion on human rights in prisons tackling every issue from individual to collective rights, and from the protection of physical integrity to respect for private life and the right to work. More specific opinions followed on children in prisons, on access to healthcare, on maintaining family ties and on foreigners in prisons. All these opinions have been compiled in a study which was widely distributed. This compilation of recommendations now appears as the “jurisprudence” of the Commission on prison issues. We were recently asked to examine a new law proposal on the prison system and based our opinion and recommendations on this previous work by assessing the progress that had been made since the release of our previous opinions in 2004 and identifying the needs for further developments. It is indeed important to ensure continuity in our work and to do the follow-up of our recommendations.

In 2008, the Commission also released two major studies:

   One on “Corporate Social Responsibility” that makes 87 recommendations to the state for it to respect, protect and implement human rights against violations from companies.
   One on “Diplomacy and human rights” that recommends that human rights become a central element of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.

So, as we can notice, there is a strong link between national and international aspects of our work. This is further evidenced by the fact that when the Commission examines a law proposal, it is assessed against international human rights and humanitarian standards. The Commission often takes this opportunity to call on France to ratify treaties and conventions it has not yet ratified and to make sure international obligations are fully implemented in law and in practice.

• At the international level

At the international level, the French Commission works in collaboration with the main international and European human rights organisations and participates in different networks. The fact that the Commission is fully accredited allows it to be active at the international level.

Participation in networks of NHRIs

   International Coordinating Committee The international coordinating committee is the international organisation that coordinates the activities of NHRIs, promotes the creation of new institutions that comply with the Paris principles and supports existing institutions.

   European Group of National Human Rights Institutions The European Group includes NHRIs from member states of the Council of Europe. It adopts common positions on issues that are relevant to all institutions throughout Europe.

   Association of Francophone NHRIs The Association of Francophone NHRIs groups institutions from 24 French-speaking countries. The Moroccan institution holds the Presidency of the Association, the Nigerian institution the vice-presidency, the Mauritian is the treasurer, and the French Commission holds the General Secretariat.

All these networks organise conferences and activities and adopt positions in which the French Commission is actively involved. Exchanging views with other institutions on best practices, problems met, solutions found, and examples of activities is extremely useful for our work. Fruitful cooperation with the other national institutions is a priority for us, both at the regional and international level, as well as on a bilateral or multilateral basis. Not only does it help us in our work at the national level, but it also reinforces the credibility of national institutions at the international level.

Cooperation with international and European human rights organisations

The French Commission cooperates with human rights organisations either individually or through the networks it belongs to.

   United Nations The main work of the French Commission regarding the UN has to do with the work of Treaty bodies (committees which examine the implementation of the main UN Conventions (CEDAW, CERD, CAT...) by state parties through a reporting procedure). When France goes before these Committees, there is a whole process beforehand to which the Commission is fully associated. The Commission is presented with the draft report that it comments or amends; the ministries examine the amendments and write the final report; the Commission can then publicise its opinion if some elements that it considers essential have not been included in the report; then, when the report is examined by the treaty bodies, the Commission is invited to submit oral observations in a private meeting with the Committee.

This process shows the specificity of the Commission’s role: sometimes direct contributor to a State report but always fully independent from it; that independence allows us to express concerns to UN treaty bodies. It is also important to note that the quality of the reporting by France to these committees has significantly improved since the Commission has been involved. It would not be so if the Commission was not free to speak.

There is also very interesting work done at the UN Human Rights Council where NHRIs have gained an observer status and with the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The French Commission also works very closely with the Council of Europe and the OSCE. It however needs to develop stronger ties with the European Union.

Finally, the French Commission has taken a strong role in examining the implementation of the recommendations made to France by international organisations.

The French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights

The French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights is a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) as defined by the generic United Nations (UN) terminology. According to the UN, “it has become increasingly apparent that the effective enjoyment of human rights calls for the establishment of national infrastructures for their protection and promotion. Official human rights institutions have been set up in many countries around the world in recent years. While the tasks of such institutions may vary considerably from country to country, they share a common purpose [...] that is the effective implementation of human rights at the national level”, in complementarity with the international and regional human rights protection systems.

National human rights institutions have a hybrid status, given that they are created by States while remaining fully independent from them. Therefore, the former Secretary General of the French Commission qualifies national human rights institutions as “actors of a third type”.

Historical background of the French Commission

While NHRIs have developed largely in the 1990s, the French Commission on Human Rights was one of the first institutions to be created after the Second World War. Its creation was linked to a request by the UN Economic and Social Council for member states to consider “the desirability of establishing information groups or local human rights committees within their respective countries”. Under the impulse of René Cassin, one of the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a Commission was set up in France in 1947 with a restricted mandate: the Commission’s mandate at that time only focused on international human rights law. The Commission’s first task was actually to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, once the Declaration was adopted, the Commission’s scope of activities was really limited until 1984 when it was reactivated as a fully-fledged institution with the adoption of three decrees in 1984, 1986 and 1989: the Commission nationale consultative des droits de l’homme as we know it today was put into place.

Legal basis of the French Commission

At the international level

• Principles relating to the status and functioning of national institutions for protection and promotion of human rights called “the Paris principles” adopted in 1991 and endorsed by the UN General Assembly on 20th December 1993. They deal in general terms with the mandate, statute, composition and organisation of NHRIs and identify four main principles which should govern any NHRI:
   independence
   pluralism and cooperation with civil society
   a large mandate (all human rights)
   adequate resources The “Paris principles” are necessary conditions for national institutions to be credible and effective. They condition the accreditation of national institutions by the International Coordinating Committee (ICC). The French Commission received full accreditation (status A) from the ICC first in 1999 and then in 2007.

At the European level

A few texts directly deal, or simply mention, the role of NHRIs at the European level.

Council of Europe • Recommendation No. R(97)14 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on the establishment of independent national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights adopted by the Committee on 30 September 1997. • Resolution No (97)11 of the Committee of Ministers on cooperation between national human rights institutions of member states and between them and the Council of Europe adopted by the Committee on 30 September 1997.

European Union • European Parliament Resolution on promotion and protection of fundamental rights: the role of national and European institutions, including the Fundamental Rights Agency (2005/2007(INI)).

At the national level

The legal basis of the Commission has evolved since 1989: its existence is now established by law, and not only by decree. This was mainly done to put the Commission in conformity with the Paris Principles which state that “A national institution shall be given as broad a mandate as possible, which shall be clearly set forth in a constitutional or legislative text”. The law was only recently adopted, at the time when the Commission was going through the reaccredidation process before the International Coordinating Committee (sub-committee on accreditation) in 2007.

• Law n° 90-615 of 13th July 1990: this law is actually the first legislative text making direct reference to the Commission by giving it the task of producing an annual report on the fight against racism in France. Such report is made public every 21st of March.

• Law n°2007-292 of 5th March 2007: this is a very short text which only gives three elements:
   The mandate: According to the law, the French Commission’s role consists in advising and making proposals to the Government in the field of human rights and humanitarian actions. It can also make suggestions to the Parliament and the Government on measures that would further the promotion and protection of human rights. So, unlike the Human Rights Commission in Bangladesh, the Commission has no competence to deal with individual complaints and to visit places of detention. These competences belong to different institutions in France: the ombudsman examines individual complaints, and a prison controller (to) visits places of detention. It is important to bear in mind here that the function of the Commission is to prevent human rights violations by detecting shortcomings in the law and suggesting improvements “since efficiency lies in prevention and not only in solving problems” (resolution of the European Parliament).
   The independence principle: The Commission fulfils this role in total independence.
   The composition: The Commission is composed of representatives from human rights non-governmental organisations, qualified personalities and experts seating in international human rights organisations, representatives from trade unions, from the Ombudsman office, from two members of Parliament and one member of Social and Economic Council.

• Decree n°2007-1137 of 26th July 2007: the Commission is also regulated by a decree which provides more detailed elements on the mandate, the composition and the organisation of the Commission:
   Mandate: The Commission fulfils its role through the adoption of opinions and studies that are made public and sent to the Prime Minister and relevant ministries. The opinions and studies are made either at the request of the Government or on the Commission’s own initiative. They always contain clear recommendations to the authorities. In accordance with the Paris Principles (“A national institution shall be given as broad a mandate as possible”), the French Commission is endowed with a generalist and wide mandate including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as humanitarian laws and actions and new technologies, bioethics and the right to a healthy environment (3rd generation). The mandate also includes human rights education activities, and the release of an annual report on the state of racism in France.
   Composition: The members have a 3 years non removable mandate, they are nominated by the Prime Minister but the decision is made in consultation with the vice-president of supreme administrative court and presidents of supreme judicial court and budgetary court. Both non revocability of the mandate and the nomination process ensure the independence of the members. The renewal of the Commission’s members is currently taking place: there are now around 100 members but the new decree sets the number of members to 64 . This intends to alleviate the overall structure and make it more flexible.

This composition has two main objectives:

Pluralism through a wide representation of civil society: NGO members, as well as lawyers, judges, diplomats, trade unionists, international law experts, humanitarian action experts work together to provide an independent expertise on human rights which reflects the views of most parts of society. The Commission always seeks dialogue and consensus among its members.

Information sharing through constant and constructive dialogue with the authorities: representatives from the ministries participate in the work of the Commission but only in a consultative capacity that is with no right to vote. The Commission is a place that favours constructive debate with the authorities. Representatives from the ministries (most often ministry of foreign affairs, ministry of justice, home affairs, health ministry etc.) come to explain recent developments, current works, and the position of the Government on particular topics while the Commission expresses its concerns and uses this information to then draft analytical and concrete recommendations.

   Organisation: President: The President and two vice-presidents are chosen among the members of the Commission. Plenary Assembly: The Plenary Assembly is made up of all the members of the Commission, meets around six times a year to debate and adopt draft opinions and studies (majority vote). Bureau: The Bureau is made up of the President and the two vice-presidents and decides on the calendar and agenda of the meetings. Coordination Committee: The Coordination Committee is made up of the members of the Bureau, presidents and vice presidents of sub commissions and is in charge of the coordination of the work of the Commission as well as giving directions and making strategic choices for the Commission. Sub Commissions: the Sub Commissions are headed by a president and two vice presidents and meet once a month to discuss topics of concern, to listen to experts and representatives from ministries, and select issues which will need to be examined further. The preparation work for drafting opinions takes place either within the sub commission framework or in a ad hoc working group specifically set up to work on specific issues. Members of the Commission participate in one or the other sub commission depending on their expertise. The sub commissions are divided as follows: Human rights and changes in society; International issues; National issues; Human rights education, women, children and family rights; Humanitarian law and humanitarian action; Fight against racism and xenophobia; and a Group on European issue. Secretariat General: The Secretariat General made up of a Secretary General, three legal advisers and two administrative assistants, is responsible for coordinating the overall work, organising the different meetings of the sub commissions and the plenary, drafting the opinions in cooperation with the members.

Activities of the French Commission

The activities of the French Commission can be divided into national and international activities, even though as we will see both activities are strongly interlinked. Activities have developed over time beyond what was originally foreseen in the texts.

At the national level

At the national level, the main activity of the French Commission is to examine law proposals or draft bills and administrative provisions (either at the request of the Government or on its own initiative) and assess their conformity with human rights standards (international and European texts, national constitution).

To do so, it proceeds through hearings of ministries, but also experts and the civil society. Once an opinion is adopted, or when drafting the law, parliamentarians may also sometimes invite the Commission to express its concerns at hearings in the Parliament.

For example, the French Commission has worked a lot on prison issues: it firstly launched a reflection on the meaning of criminal sanctions for the individual and for the society as a whole looking more specifically into who should be sentenced, why should there be a sentence and how to decide on a sentence. This work was followed by a very developed opinion on human rights in prisons tackling every issue from individual to collective rights, and from the protection of physical integrity to respect for private life and the right to work. More specific opinions followed on children in prisons, on access to healthcare, on maintaining family ties and on foreigners in prisons. All these opinions have been compiled in a study which was widely distributed. This compilation of recommendations now appears as the “jurisprudence” of the Commission on prison issues. We were recently asked to examine a new law proposal on the prison system and based our opinion and recommendations on this previous work by assessing the progress that had been made since the release of our previous opinions in 2004 and identifying the needs for further developments. It is indeed important to ensure continuity in our work and to do the follow-up of our recommendations.

In 2008, the Commission also released two major studies:

   One on “Corporate Social Responsibility” that makes 87 recommendations to the state for it to respect, protect and implement human rights against violations from companies.
   One on “Diplomacy and human rights” that recommends that human rights become a central element of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy.

So, as we can notice, there is a strong link between national and international aspects of our work. This is further evidenced by the fact that when the Commission examines a law proposal, it is assessed against international human rights and humanitarian standards. The Commission often takes this opportunity to call on France to ratify treaties and conventions it has not yet ratified and to make sure international obligations are fully implemented in law and in practice.

A the international level

At the international level, the French Commission works in collaboration with the main international and European human rights organisations and participates in different networks. The fact that the Commission is fully accredited allows it to be active at the international level.

Participation in networks of NHRIs

   International Coordinating Committee The international coordinating committee is the international organisation that coordinates the activities of NHRIs, promotes the creation of new institutions that comply with the Paris principles and supports existing institutions.

   European Group of National Human Rights Institutions The European Group includes NHRIs from member states of the Council of Europe. It adopts common positions on issues that are relevant to all institutions throughout Europe.

   Association of Francophone NHRIs The Association of Francophone NHRIs groups institutions from 24 French-speaking countries. The Moroccan institution holds the Presidency of the Association, the Nigerian institution the vice-presidency, the Mauritian is the treasurer, and the French Commission holds the General Secretariat.

All these networks organise conferences and activities and adopt positions in which the French Commission is actively involved. Exchanging views with other institutions on best practices, problems met, solutions found, and examples of activities is extremely useful for our work. Fruitful cooperation with the other national institutions is a priority for us, both at the regional and international level, as well as on a bilateral or multilateral basis. Not only does it help us in our work at the national level, but it also reinforces the credibility of national institutions at the international level.

Cooperation with international and European human rights organisations

The French Commission cooperates with human rights organisations either individually or through the networks it belongs to.

   United Nations The main work of the French Commission regarding the UN has to do with the work of Treaty bodies (committees which examine the implementation of the main UN Conventions (CEDAW, CERD, CAT...) by state parties through a reporting procedure). When France goes before these Committees, there is a whole process beforehand to which the Commission is fully associated. The Commission is presented with the draft report that it comments or amends; the ministries examine the amendments and write the final report; the Commission can then publicise its opinion if some elements that it considers essential have not been included in the report; then, when the report is examined by the treaty bodies, the Commission is invited to submit oral observations in a private meeting with the Committee.

This process shows the specificity of the Commission’s role: sometimes direct contributor to a State report but always fully independent from it; that independence allows us to express concerns to UN treaty bodies. It is also important to note that the quality of the reporting by France to these committees has significantly improved since the Commission has been involved. It would not be so if the Commission was not free to speak.

There is also very interesting work done at the UN Human Rights Council where NHRIs have gained an observer status and with the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The French Commission also works very closely with the Council of Europe and the OSCE. It however needs to develop stronger ties with the European Union.

Finally, the French Commission has taken a strong role in examining the implementation of the recommendations made to France by international organisations.