To end the process of forced assimilation of the French-speaking minority in Flanders and prevent any risk of violence, the APFF calls on Belgium to open a wide debate on minority issues within the framework of the national report to be submitted the United Nations, as part of its next Universal Periodic Review (UPR) early in 2016. The APFF also requests that the civil society be involved. Indeed, Belgium pledged to work in close collaboration with civil society to prepare its report. To date, the APFF has not been invited to participate in any consultation whatsoever and Belgium must submit its report within one year! It should also be noted that Belgium has still not established a National Institute of Human Rights (NHRI). We risk ending up in the same situation as in the 2011 UPR when Belgium had simply dismissed the question of minorities by not addressing it in the document it presented to the UN. Finally, The APFF requests that Belgium restore the language census of the population based on scientific criteria, in order to have precise information regarding the use of languages and the evolution of minorities in different regions of the country. How many French-speaking people currently live in Flanders ? The Dedicated Research survey of 2009 states the number of 310,000 as it is limited to people whose mother tongue is French ? 367,000 taking into account people who speak French perfectly and who have one French-speaking parent ? It is worth investigating this question further, if only for the fair distribution of grants to associations, as well as access to cultural centres, i.e. without discriminating against the francophone minority in Flanders. We thank you for your attention, For more information Please visit our site (http://www.francophonie.be/ndf). About the APFF The Association for the Promotion of French Culture in Flanders (APFF) has no political objective and has absolutely no intention of questioning the linguistic status of Flanders. It simply wants French, one of Belgium’s official languages, to have the right to be used in Flanders in the same way as any other language. The APFF promotes French culture in particular by publishing the magazine « Nouvelles de Flandre » on its website (http://www.francophonie.be/ndf). Here you can also find a calendar of activities in French and the addresses of French-speaking resources in Flanders, as well as articles and information on French culture in general. A newsletter, a paper version of the magazine, is also published every three months. Anyone who is interested in the APFF can become a member. The annual membership fee is 15 EUR for Belgium and 30 EUR for abroad, payment to be sent to the APFF’s account number 210-0433429-85 (IBAN : BE89 2100 4334 2985 – BIC : GEBABEBB). Members and donors receive the « Nouvelles de Flandre » magazine every three months. Association for the Promotion of the Fre nch Culture in Flande rs (APFF npo) Secretariat : Spreeuwenlaan 12, B-8420 De Haan, Belgium Phone : +32(0)59.23.77.01 Fax : +32(0)59.23.77.02 Gsm : +32(0)479.35.50.54 E-mail : apff@francophonie.be Site : http://www.francophonie.be/ndf