A/52/471 English Page 15 35. The elements of this initiative are: the establishment of a diverse, seven-member advisory board which will examine the current state of racial discrimination and recommend appropriate corrective measures to the President; a nationwide campaign by the President to raise public awareness; outreach to community leaders, businessmen, State and local officials, members of Congress, business leaders and individuals, encouraging them to become involved in reconciliation and community-building projects; and a President's report to the nation on the status of the race issue. 36. The President's report, to be issued at the end of September 1998, will: "Present his vision of One America, including an illustration and assessment of the growing diversity of our nation, and of his consultations with his advisory board; Reflect the work that has occurred during the year, including the conversations and suggestions made at town hall meetings and other venues; Report on how the nation has evolved on the issue of race over the past 30 years, including the studies commissioned for the initiative; Provide recommendations and solutions that enable individuals, communities, businesses, organizations and government to address difficult issues and build on our best possibilities." 37. The Special Rapporteur welcomes this initiative by the United States Government. C. France 38. In his previous report to the General Assembly (A/51/301), the Special Rapporteur had noted the intention of the then French legislature to increase the severity of the Pasqua/Debré laws governing foreign residents by adopting measures to improve control over immigration by non-Europeans. The measures envisaged included making the issuance of short-stay visas more systematically subject to proof of health insurance (a formality which would be required in the case of countries where the "migratory risk" was high); improving the identification of visa applicants from those countries; reforming the procedure for the issuance of the "certificat d'hébergement" (inter alia by requiring the person offering accommodation to give notice of the visitor's departure); restricting hospital care for illegal aliens to "emergencies" or to diseases likely to be contagious; and extending to 40 days the period of administrative detention for persons who entered France illegally. 39. The Special Rapporteur had criticized the discriminatory nature of the proposed measures. He has since been informed of the measures recently envisaged by the new French Government.6 These include regularizing the status of certain categories of undocumented aliens7 and drafting a preliminary bill on the entry and stay of foreign nationals. The preliminary bill includes provisions designed to make it easier for foreigners to stay in France and for foreign scientists, students and persons "with strong ties to France" (older /...