E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.4 page 15 71. However, besides a strict assessment of compatibility with the right to freedom of religion or belief, the law has been the object of careful consideration by the United Nations treaty bodies. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations on the second periodic report of France, expressed its concern that “the new legislation (Law No. 2004-228 of 15 March 2004) on wearing religious signs in public schools may be counterproductive, by neglecting the principle of the best interests of the child and the right of the child to access to education […] the Committee recommends that the State party […] consider alternative means, including mediation, of ensuring the secular character of public schools, while guaranteeing that individual rights are not infringed upon and that children are not excluded or marginalized from the school system […]. The dress code in schools may be better addressed within the public schools themselves, encouraging participation of children” (CRC/C/15/Add.4, paras. 25-26). 72. In its concluding observations on the fifteenth and sixteenth periodic reports of France, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination “recommend[ed] to the State party that it should continue to monitor the implementation of the Act of 15 March 2004 closely, to ensure that it has no discriminatory effects and that the procedures followed in its implementation always place emphasis on dialogue, to prevent it from denying any pupil the right to education and to ensure that everyone can always exercise that right” (CERD/C/FRA/CO/16, para 18). VII. CULT GROUPS AND CERTAIN NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS OR COMMUNITIES OF BELIEF A. Background and measures taken in the 1990s 73. In 1995, further to a series of dramatic incidents involving cult groups, the National Assembly created a commission of inquiry to analyse the question and to propose updated legislation on the issue. 74. Following a number of hearings with administrative authorities, doctors, lawyers, representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and former members or leaders of cult groups, the Commission established a list of criteria according to which a group could be defined as a secte,9 including mental destabilization, exaggerated financial contributions, the required separation from one’s original environment (in particular, one’s family), offence to physical integrity, the recruitment of children, relatively anti-social discourse, public order offences or attempts to infiltrate public services. 75. The Commission established a list of all those movements or groups which met at least one of the above criteria. The list numbered 173 main groups and 800 subsidiary groups. In this process it was claimed, inter alia, that the groups concerned had not been informed in advance that they would be placed on the list or given the opportunity to participate in a hearing. They were also not provided with the reasons justifying their inclusion on the list. 76. In order to analyse the dangers posed by these groups, the Commission mainly based its findings on judicial decisions that had been taken in the past, as well as on the testimonies of former secte members. These decisions revealed mainly cases of infringement of physical integrity, sequestration, failure to assist a person in danger or the illegal practice of medicine. It