A/HRC/25/69 48. Mr. Forst emphasized that implementation of standards was of greater importance than the development of new norms. There were ways to ensure better implementation such as country visits by the treaty monitoring bodies which might be costly, but effective. If more country visits were carried out, better information about what is happening on the ground will be gathered. In this context, the old proposal for an international court on human rights might be considered. There is a legislative process to integrate aliens and foreigners in France. Despite existing legislation and other measures, it was proving challenging in some areas to accept of foreigners and different cultural practices. 49. The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Valeriya Lutkovska also gave a presentation during the 8th meeting of the Committee. She said that the Commissioner’s mandate on equality and non-discrimination was envisaged in article 3(6) of the Law on Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights which refers to prevention of any forms of discrimination in exercise of rights and freedoms and article 10 of the Law “On Fundamentals of Preventing and Combating Discrimination” refers to control over observance of the principle of non-discrimination in various spheres of public relations, monitoring of observance of the principle of non-discrimination in various spheres of public relations, review of individual and group petitions/complaints on discrimination, elucidation of issues concerning prevention and combating of discrimination and observance of the principle of non-discrimination in the Commissioner’s Annual Report. With regard to the structure of the Secretariat she noted that it includes Commissioner’s Representative on Child Rights, Non-Discrimination & Gender Equality, Department on Child Rights, Non-Discrimination & Gender Equality, Non-Discrimination Division, Expert Board on Non-Discrimination and Gender Equality. 50. She pointed out that in 2012, 792 complaints were received: 56 proceedings were initiated, 675 explanations and advice were given and 61 were unacceptable. These complaints include 3 based on Race/Color of skin, 49 on Ethnic/National origin and 682 on Religion and belief. With regard to monitoring draft laws and governmental legal documents for discriminatory provisions, in 2013 the Commissioner provided 8 expert opinions and recommendations submitted to Parliamentary Committees, worked closely with civil society organizations on joint monitoring efforts (e.g. Centre for Civil Liberties, Coalition Against Discrimination) and provided analysis of laws in force (e.g. Commissioner’s opinion on Law “On Fundamentals of Preventing and Combating Discrimination in Ukraine”, provisions of the Criminal Executive Code of Ukraine that discriminate on the ground of sex, etc.). Various awareness raising initiatives were also organized, including conferences and trainings. 51. With regard to legal challenges, Ms. Lutkovska highlighted the limited scope of competence in article 2 of the Law on Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, which is not sufficient for an effective work in the field of non-discrimination, article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, lack of key competences such as ability to initiate Action Popularis Cases and Amicus Curiae is not institutionalized. She also noted that legislation on equality and non-discrimination requires further improvement (e.g. principal laws, secondary normative acts, anti-discrimination assessment procedures). There are also organizational and operation challenges, such as specialized expertise on equality and nondiscrimination and human resources. 52. The Ukrainian Commissioner also pointed out that legislation on non-discrimination was quite new in Ukraine. The general public did not have an understanding of the possibilities provided by the new law. In 2012 and 2013 there were few applications regarding discrimination. She explained that more education and awareness-raising was needed by the general public. More capacity-building work is also required for civil society organizations, Ministries, state agencies, and local administration to prevent human rights violations. She briefly referred to challenges posed by legislation on data protection and non-discrimination. 29