A/HRC/22/49/Add.1 Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 12. The national Law on the Prevention of All Forms of Discrimination entered into force in August 2009. The law is applicable to all public bodies at the State, entity and canton levels and in Brčko District, and to municipal institutions.1 The list of protected grounds is comprehensive and includes race, skin colour, language, religion, ethnic affiliation, national or social origin, connection to a national minority and ―every other circumstance‖. The national Law on Religious Freedom prohibits any form of discrimination against any religious community and regulates the licensing and legal status of religious groups and places of worship. 13. The 2003 State Law on the Protection of the Rights of Persons Belonging to National Minorities includes provisions for the protection of the cultural, religious, education, social, economic and political rights of national minorities. It names 17 minority groups (see para. 4 above), however it is not restrictive and article 3 states that ―a national minority … shall be a part of the population-citizens of BiH that does not belong to any of three constituent peoples and it shall include people of the same or similar tradition, customs, religion, language, culture and spirituality and close or related history and other characteristics‖. The law established the State-level Council of National Minorities—an advisory body to the Parliamentary Assembly—which took up its functions in 2008. In 2004 the Republika Srpska adopted an entity-level law on protection of the rights of national minorities and the Federation adopted its own legislation in 2008. Both entities established their own Council of National Minorities—the Republika Srpska in 2007 and the Federation in 2009. 14. The State-level Council of National Minorities currently has 12 members from different minority groups; the current Chair is from the Roma community. The Council represents the interests of all national minorities. Members are nominated by NGOs and minority associations following a public call. A new public call for nominations from unrepresented minority groups was made in November 2011, and the intention is that all minorities will be represented. Members have expressed frustration over delays to the appointment of new members, which they suggested were caused by political parties favouring their own party members for appointment to the Council. The potential to expand the Council exists, and additional groups, including Austrians, Bulgarians and Greeks, have been approved for membership. 15. Council members stated that, although it is an advisory and consultative body, the Council does not have direct access to the Parliamentary Assembly; rather, its reports and opinions are first vetted by the Human Rights Committee of the Assembly. The Council recommends that more defined duties and powers be accorded to it in order to enable it to have real impact and ensure that it is not a symbolic body. It had submitted opinions and recommendations for implementing the Sejdić and Finci judgement (see para. 27 below), but was informed that it was not competent to suggest Constitutional amendments. Members emphasized the need to build the capacity of the Council, since members often lack political or advisory experience. 16. Like the State Presidency, the institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman, created by law in 2004, is a tripartite body of three Ombudspersons, one from each constituent people. The law establishing the institution, as amended in 2006, states that: ―Ombudsmen shall be appointed from the ranks of the three constituent peoples … which does not 1 6 European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, ―ECRI Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina (fourth monitoring cycle)‖ (8 February 2011), p. 20.