A/HRC/7/23/Add.2 page 9 non-governmental sources that despite the possibilities open to the courts, penalties for discrimination are usually low and symbolic rather than being sufficiently severe to act as a deterrent to future violations. 18. The independent expert notes the inactivity of an Inter-Ministerial Committee to Combat Racism, Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia, which has not been convened since 2005. Such bodies offer the potential to ensure coordinated policies and practices across ministries, recognizing their interrelated mandates and the need for cooperation and holistic approaches to combat racism and its impact on minorities. The local prosecutor in the Paris suburb of Bobigny noted the potential benefits of greater cooperation between the authorities responsible for criminal justice, including those responsible for alternatives to custodial sentencing and those with mandates relating to education and employment. II. IDENTITY, LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND RELIGION A. Issues of identity 19. Members of minority communities consistently described feelings of frustration that becoming a citizen of France is not sufficient for full acceptance by French society. They spoke of their sense that the precondition for acceptance is nothing less than total assimilation. They feel that rigid notions of French national identity required them to reject major aspects of their identities. Only when they find a way to disguise the colour of their skins and hide the manifestations of their religion or their traditions will they be accepted as truly French. They spoke of feeling unwelcome because of who they are. They referred to the newly named “Ministry of Immigration, National Identity, Integration and Co-development” as conveying a message that the presence and increasing numbers of people of immigrant heritage is a threat to French national identity. A Muslim community member in the Marseilles suburbs stated: “We are called upon to conform … but it is important to be proud and not hide your identity and culture. We have to respect the laws but be ourselves. The real French are also us: Mohammad and Fatima. Where are we going to go?” 20. The independent expert notes that debates under way during her visit in regard to a new immigration bill (subsequently adopted as Law No. 2007-1631 of 20 November 2007 relating to control of immigration, integration and asylum) regarding DNA testing for immigration applicants and quotas for deportations are highly relevant to her mandate. They contribute to generating a national climate of suspicion and negativity against those of immigrant or Muslim origin; creating a presumption that they are all illegal and are fraudulently bringing non-family members into France, a factor that may boost Islamophobia. 21. Community members stated that the commonly felt sense of exclusion and alienation is leading to an unfortunate anti-integration reaction, in which members of minority groups are retreating from mainstream French society, which they perceive as rejecting them. Manifestations can be seen in the growing radicalization of young Muslim men and an increase in ethnically-based gang culture. It was noted that the urban disturbances of 2005 were partly triggered by what was perceived as a violation of a mosque by police, which caused consternation throughout France’s Muslim communities. A student of Algerian heritage in