Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

List of issues in relation to the fourth periodic report of France *

I.General information

1.Please give recent examples, where possible, of cases in which the Covenant has been invoked or applied directly by domestic courts. Please provide information on measures taken to ensure that law enforcement personnel, lawyers and other law practitioners are aware of the provisions of the Covenant.

2.Please provide information on the progress made towards ratification by the State party of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant.

3.In light of paragraphs 65, 70 and 504 of the State party report, please provide information on the status of the Covenant in domestic law.

II.Issues relating to the general provisions of the Covenant (arts. 1–5)

Article 1, paragraphs 1 to 3Self-determination and natural resources

4.Please provide information on progress made in the implementation of the Nouméa Accord of 1998. Please explain in further detail the rules governing the collective rights of the indigenous peoples overseas, particularly as regards self-determination and the use of their resources and their lands.

Article 2, paragraph 1International cooperation

5.Please indicate the measures taken to meet the goal of allocating 0.7 per cent of gross national income to development assistance.

6.Please indicate the measures taken to ensure the effective implementation of articles 1 to 8 of the Framework Act on policy on development and international solidarity, Act No. 2014-773 of 7 July 2014. Please indicate the measures taken to ensure that projects funded by France respect the economic, social and cultural rights of the peoples of the country in which they are organized.

Article 2, paragraph 2Non-discrimination

7.Please provide information on measures taken by the State party to develop tools for the collection of more detailed statistical data, disaggregated by age, sex and origin, with a view to gauging the incidence of discriminatory practices. Please provide information on the effective enforcement of anti-discrimination legislation and other mechanisms relating to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by persons belonging to racial, ethnic or religious minorities, including persons of foreign origin, migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and the most marginalized and disadvantaged persons.

8.Please provide updated information on the full implementation of Act No. 2005-102 of 11 February 2005 on equal rights and opportunities, participation and citizenship for persons with disabilities and the practical benefits enjoyed by persons with disabilities as a result. Please indicate whether the multi-year placement plan 2008–2012 has been renewed and whether the State party intends to adopt a national plan of action for persons with disabilities.

9.Please indicate the measures taken to combat the stigmatization and discrimination encountered by the Roma people in France, including those expressed in public statements. Please indicate the measures taken to facilitate access to their rights by migrant Roma peoples since the lifting of temporary measures applying to nationals of Romania and Bulgaria.

III.Issues relating to specific provisions of the Covenant (arts. 6 to 15)

Article 6Right to work

10.Please provide up-to-date information on the unemployment rate in France. Please indicate the results achieved, disaggregated by age and sex, by the various mechanisms established by the State party to reduce unemployment, especially among young people, and in particular those from critical urban zones.

11.Please indicate the results achieved by the measures taken against discrimination in the employment of persons belonging to racial, ethnic or religious minorities, such as the “Diversity Label” and the Charter for the Promotion of Equality in the Civil Service, including in the overseas communities. Please indicate the measures that the State party intends to take in order to ensure the implementation of article L.1221-7 of the Labour Code on the anonymity of job applications.

12.Please provide information on the effect of measures taken to combat the obstacles to employment faced by women, especially women belonging to racial, ethnic or religious minorities, women from the overseas communities, single mothers and women living in the suburbs and rural areas.

Article 7Right to just and favourable conditions of work

13.Please provide information on progress achieved on security of employment since the entry into force of Act No. 2008-596 of 25 June 2008, including detailed statistics on the number of persons on open-ended and fixed-term contracts. Please also provide information on the effective implementation of Act No. 2011-893 of 28 July 2011 on the development of work-study schemes and security of occupational progression.

14.Please give more detailed information on the effect of the entry into force of Act No. 2011-103 of 27 January 2011 on the balanced representation of women and men on boards of directors and supervisory boards and on professional equality, and on the effective implementation of Decree No. 2012-1408 of 18 December 2012 on the fulfilment of company obligations relating to the equality of men and women in the workplace. Please state whether sanctions have been applied in cases of violation of these laws. Please provide information on the implementation of Act No. 2006-340 of 23 March 2006 on wage equality between men and women and article 99 of Act No. 2010-1330 of 9 November 2010 on pension reform.

15.Please indicate whether additional measures have been taken to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the private sector and describe progress achieved in meeting the 6 per cent quota laid down in Act No. 2005-102 of 11 February 2005, for the recruitment of persons with disabilities by private companies with more than 20 employees.

Article 8Trade union rights

16.Please provide detailed information on all action taken to ensure the full implementation of article L.1132-2 of the Labour Code and on the measures taken to protect unionized workers from discrimination or reprisals on grounds of their trade union activity.

Article 9Right to social security

17.Please provide detailed information on the proportion of the budget and the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) allocated by the State party to social security expenditure, including social insurance. Please indicate to what extent migrants, including asylum seekers, can use the various social protection mechanisms, including the revenu de solidarité active (RSA), the minimum old-age pension or older persons solidarity allowance (ASPA), the supplementary disability allowance (ASI) and Universal Health-Care Coverage (CMU and CMU-C), including in the overseas communities.

Article 10Protection of the family, mothers and children

18.Please provide detailed statistical data on the effective enforcement of legislation on violence against women, including the number of complaints, prosecutions, convictions and sentences passed on the perpetrators of such crimes. Please provide detailed information on the implementation of the national plans to combat domestic violence (2008–2010 and 2011–2013) and their effect on the reduction of domestic violence.

19.Please indicate measures taken for the protection and realization of the economic, social and cultural rights of victims of trafficking, particularly in the context of the national plan of action against trafficking in persons, 2014–2016. Please specify the resources allocated for the implementation of the plan.

Article 11Right to an adequate standard of living

20.Please indicate measures to improve access by the most disadvantaged and marginalized persons, including long-term unemployed persons, single-parent families, persons belonging to racial, ethnic or religious minorities and asylum seekers, to mechanisms aimed at alleviating poverty. Please provide detailed information on the results of the Multi-year Plan against Poverty and for Social Inclusion. Please also indicate the mechanisms in place to alleviate poverty in the overseas communities, particularly French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna.

21.Please indicate the measures taken to ensure recognition of the right to food in law and enjoyment of the right in practice. Please indicate the measures put in place to ensure access to water for all, particularly the most disadvantaged and marginalized populations, especially those living in rural areas and Travellers.

22.Please indicate the action taken to ensure the full implementation of legislation against discriminatory practices in access to housing for persons of foreign origin, persons belonging to racial, ethnic or religious minorities and persons living in critical urban zones. Please indicate the measures taken to establish the conditions for the realization of the enforceable right to housing (DALO) and the Act on access to housing and urban renewal (ALUR Act). Please provide up-to-date information on measures taken to facilitate access to decent housing for disadvantaged and marginalized persons, including persons in the overseas communities.

23.Please provide statistical data on the number of homeless persons in the State party. Please indicate additional measures taken by the State party to find lasting and appropriate solutions to the question of housing for homeless persons. Please also provide statistical data on tenant evictions.

24.Please provide information on the steps taken to facilitate access to housing by Roma migrants and to put an end to forced evictions when they have not been rehoused in decent and adequate housing. Please specify the measures taken to facilitate access by Roma populations to health care and to put an end to actions by municipalities preventing Roma children from enrolling in school.

25.Please indicate the measures taken to ensure access to housing by Travellers, in camp facilities or elsewhere, in accordance with the Besson Act.

Article 12Right to physical and mental health

26.Please indicate measures taken to remove obstacles, including financial and administrative obstacles, that prevent some disadvantaged and marginalized persons from obtaining access to care. Please indicate the measures taken to ensure access to health care for all, including residents of the overseas communities, particularly French Guiana and Mayotte.

27.Please explain the causes of suicide in the State party, particularly in the Amerindian community of Haut-Maroni in French Guiana. Please indicate the results of the national programme of action against suicide 2011–2014 and the impact of preventive and awareness-raising measures on reducing the suicide rate in France.

Articles 13 and 14Right to education

28.Please indicate the results of the implementation of the three ministerial circulars of 11 October 2012 on educational provision for, among others, children whose first language is not French. Please indicate the effect of measures to prevent children belonging to minority groups, particularly children of the Traveller community, from dropping out of school. Please indicate the measures taken to provide children with disabilities with assistance in mainstream education, particularly as regards the training of teachers.

29.Please provide information on the measures taken by the State party to ensure that higher education is accessible to all, in particular through the progressive development of free education. Please also give detailed information on the measures taken to provide human rights education.

Article 15Cultural rights

30.Please provide information, where applicable, on the lack of resources allocated to the teaching of regional languages and to the promotion of regional languages in cultural life. Please also provide current data on the use of regional languages in the media in the overseas communities, particularly in French Guiana and New Caledonia. Please provide information on the measures taken to assist the ethnic groups not mentioned in the State party report in preserving their cultural identity and developing their respective cultures, including their languages.

31.Please provide information on the steps taken by the State party to ensure that everyone benefits from scientific progress and its applications, the development and dissemination of science and culture, as well as the development of international contacts and cooperation in the scientific and cultural fields. Please also provide information on the measures taken by the State party to facilitate access to the Internet for marginalized and disadvantaged individuals and groups.