A/HRC/8/47 Page 12 a need for specific urban planning and policy. France respects diversity at all levels, in politics and in society. France has implemented innovative approaches to strengthen diversity, e.g. by encouraging access to the highest schools and universities for persons from underprivileged areas, or through an action plan for access to the civil service. The Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel, which is an independent body, has undertaken measures to ensure that the media reflects the diversity that prevails in the French society. The promotion of diversity is also reflected in the teaching of regional languages in France. 43. The Commission nationale de déontologie de la sécurité is an independent body that can be seized by members of Parliament, can call for inquiries and reports once a year to the President. France also reiterated the important role of the Contrôleur général des lieux de détention whose mandate is broad and whose independence is protected by the law. France is currently selecting a candidate to fill the post and has allocated a budget of 2.5 million euros and 20 staff members to this new institution. Regarding concerns raised with regard to impunity forlaw enforcement officials, a victim can directly seize the judge who is then obliged to open an inquiry. Victims who complain about excessive administrative sanctions applied in prisons can access a lawyer remunerated by the State. This type of cases has considerably decreased. Regarding the list of safe countries in asylum procedures, the representative of France assured that this list is constantly updated. French citizenship is not required to reside in France and 8 per cent of the population who lives and works in France are not French. Referring again to the law on religious symbols and its impact, France specified that out of 48 cases, only two persons could not be provided with schooling. More than two years after its adoption, ICRMW, France recalled that it has difficulties due to the fact that this convention does not distinguish between regular and irregular migration and that in any case it applies most of the provisions contained in the convention. France also recalled that this issue has to be dealt with at the European level as, since the Amsterdam Treaty, it falls within the competence of the European Union. 44. Referring to the alarming human rights situation in the administrative detention centre of Pamandzi in Mayotte, to the detention of minors, inhuman and degrading treatment, the impossibility for detainees to exercise their right to communicate, the absence of the right to health, suspensive recourse against administrative measures and of procedural guarantees, Côte d’Ivoire asked how France plans to reconcile these conditions with the international human rights instruments to which it is a party. Côte d’Ivoire recommended that experiments on detainees with electric impulsion weapons provoking acute pain, which can constitute a form of torture, be avoided in penitentiaries. 45. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland welcomed the introduction of a new policy for deprived urban areas, and asked whether there is provision for sufficient financing of the initiative and whether the measures go far enough in tackling the root causes of inequality and discrimination among disadvantaged groups. The United Kingdom welcomed that report of the CNCDH indicating that incidents of racist attacks reported to the authorities have decreased regularly since 2005, and recommended that France make efforts to enforce existing antidiscrimination legislation more effectively, and that the Government consider compiling statistics on ethnic minority groups, as this would help to assess the extent and causes of inequality and evaluate the effectiveness of measures in place to address it. The United Kingdom asked what France is doing to ensure that those working in the political and public administration spheres reflect the diversity of France as a whole. It urged France to move forward with the appointment of a suitable candidate to the post of Contrôleur des lieux privatifs de liberté and asked for more information on what it is doing to address overpopulation in prisons, and to modernize its prison facilities, particularly with regard to juveniles. The United Kingdom recommended increased