A/HRC/17/50 country and is now available on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).2 The independent expert noted with satisfaction the statements made by the Head of State, who spoke of transitional justice as one of his priorities, thus confirming the commitment that he had expressed in his investiture speech of 27 August 2010. The expert hopes that this priority will be translated into reality. It would be necessary in that regard for the concerns and proposals put forward by Burundian civil society during the national consultations to be, to the fullest possible extent, taken into consideration in the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms. 2. Independent National Human Rights Commission (CNIDH) 28. Significant advances have been made towards the establishment of the independent national human rights commission. In January 2010, the Government, in the Council of Ministers, adopted a bill designed to serve as the legal basis of the commission. The bill was sent to Parliament some months later. However, it was not able to be discussed by Parliament because of the communal, presidential and legislative elections. During his visit to Bujumbura, the independent expert was informed by the Government that the law establishing the commission would be put to the vote and promulgated by the end of 2010. 29. The independent expert reminded the Government that, in its resolution 9/19 (A/HRC/RES/9/19), the Human Rights Council had called on Burundi to establish an independent human rights commission in accordance with the Paris Principles.3 The independent expert also informed the Government of his concerns as to whether the bill was in line with the requirements of the Paris Principles, particularly with regard to the appointment procedure and status of members of the commission. The bill as initially transmitted to Parliament contained provisions that did not make it possible to guarantee the independence of that institution, given that the executive selected and appointed members of the commission on the basis of a list of names submitted by the various originating bodies. The Paris Principles give key importance both to the method of appointment of members of the commission and to the effective participation of civil society in the process. Satisfactory representation of the various components of the population within the commission offers a guarantee of its independence and hence of its credibility in the eyes of the population and of national and international observers. 30. It should be noted that the process of establishment of the independent national human rights commission was supported by national and international partners who wish that institution to be given powers for the promotion and protection of human rights in Burundi. Some of those partners, particularly non-governmental organizations, forwarded their comments to the Government concerning the conformity of the bill to the Paris Principles. On 23 December 2009, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights transmitted to the Government its comments on the method of appointment of members of the commission and on the institution's budget. During his visit to Burundi, the independent expert expressed regret that those comments had not been taken into account in the bill submitted to Parliament. 31. The law establishing CNIDH was finally adopted by Parliament on 14 December 2010. The independent expert notes with satisfaction that that law takes into account most of the comments made by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 2 3 See http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AfricaRegion/Pages/BIIndex.aspx. General Assembly resolution 48/134 of 20 December 1993 on national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (see document A/RES/48/134 of 4 March and its Annex entitled Principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights). GE.11-13751 (EXT) 9