A/HRC/7/23/Add.2 page 21 IV. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF MINORITIES 71. Article 2.3 of the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Minorities states that: “Persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in decisions on the national and, where appropriate, regional level concerning the minority to which they belong or the regions in which they live, in a manner not incompatible with national legislation.” This is a guarantee that must be read in conjunction with the political rights of citizens under articles 2.1 and 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 72. Although minorities in France account for an estimated 12 per cent of the population, according to the Institute Montaigne, an independent French institute, only 2 of the 555 members of the lower house elected in metropolitan (non-overseas) France come from the country’s black, Asian and North African minorities.17 In the 2007 elections, France’s governing political party, the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), had only seven minority candidates running for election while the opposition Socialists had 20 candidates, mostly in the Paris region.18 A total of 7,639 candidates stood for 577 seats, including France’s overseas possessions. 73. The legitimate interests of minorities are not fully considered within political institutions that do not reflect the diversity of French society. Parliamentary debates on key issues relevant to minorities, including policy to combat racism and discrimination and to promote equality and immigration issues, are being conducted without representatives of minorities, who are frequent victims of discrimination. Lack of minority representation constitutes an extremely serious problem of underrepresentation in the legislative and at all levels of political structure. A significant sector of French society feels excluded from the organs of power, as a result of which those deliberative bodies suffer a deficit in the absence of their views. This raises issues of legitimacy and a legislative process that is not fully informed. 74. The rise of far-right political platforms within mainstream French politics influences the nature of political discourse and decision-making according to community representatives. They highlighted a growing nationalist, anti-immigrant discourse and political climate, exemplified by the slogan “France, love it or leave it”. This sends a message to communities not to complain. One community member in the suburbs stated: “If I speak of my living conditions, they will say I hate France. Given that climate, it is hard to have a dialogue on how to improve things.” NGO representatives noted that despite recent urban violence in 2005, issues of disadvantaged urban communities and discrimination featured little in 2007 election campaigns of major parties. Rather, immigration controls and tougher law and order measures were the primary campaign issues, suggesting that solutions to urban problems are being sought in “get tough” policies rather than in improved approaches to employment opportunities, urban redevelopment and human rights. 17 Research quoted in The Economist, 25 October 2007, Minorities and legislatures: Must the rainbow turn monochrome in parliament? 18 Figures quoted by IFOP, the French market research institute established in 1938 to conduct polls and public research, http://www.ifop.com/europe/groupeifop/gr_fr.htm.