five associations and NGOs file a complaint with the UN

The applicants accuse France of violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which it signed in 1971.

Five associations and NGOs filed a complaint with the UN on Thursday April 11 to denounce the “facies checks” in France, reports France Inter. Amnesty International, Human rights watch, Community House for Solidarity Development, Pazapas Belleville and Reaji, have contacted the United Nations – more precisely the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) – on what they describe as “facies control”.

In their complaint, which France Inter was able to consult, the applicants accuse France of violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which it signed in 1971, and ask for these to be noted. violations, “as well as the need and urgency to implement all effective and relevant concrete measures to eliminate this racial discrimination.”

The issue is “real protection of people targeted by this discrimination”

Six months ago, last October, the Council of State noted, in its judgment, that discriminatory identity checks “are not limited to isolated cases”without however qualifying the practice of “systemic”. However, he rejected the NGOs’ appeal, considering that he could not influence the public policy of the State. All avenues of appeal offered by French law having been exhausted, the applicants therefore had the possibility of contacting an international organization.

“The challenge is that France respects these international obligations, which are not only to sanction when there is discrimination – this is an important point – but to prevent, detect and implement everything possible to that this ban on racial discrimination is effective in France and that there is real protection for victims and people targeted by this discrimination”details Myriame Matari, lawyer at the Lyon bar, who represents three of the applicants, via the (Re)Claim association.

“Excessive use of force”

Associations and NGOs also criticize the French state for not taking any action “to detect the factors contributing to the persistence of this discrimination and tackle this systemic problem”. Based on the testimony of 38 people saying they were victims of controls deemed discriminatory, the complaint also highlights the lack of traceability, which contributes, according to its signatories, to preventing effective protection of the people targeted by said controls.

Last July, following the riots which broke out following the death of Nahel Merzouk in Nanterre, the CERD published a statement in which it said it “deeply concerned by the continued practice of racial profiling” and by “excessive use of force in law enforcement”. France had, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, contested these accusations, judging these terms “excessive” And “unfounded” and called on the UN body to demonstrate “more discernment and measure” in her comments, which she regretted “the partial and approximate character”.

If the UN decided to condemn France following the complaint, this decision would not be coercive but would be no less important for Myriame Matari: “It’s finally having an international body that will follow what France is doing and demand a level of measures and obligations that match the seriousness of the problem.” The decision should not come for several years, time for the French authorities to present their arguments to the UN.