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CDL-AD(2013)019
III.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
11.
To ensure full compliance with international standards, notably the UN’s Paris
Principles, it is recommended as follows:
1. Key Recommendations
A. To guarantee the existence of the High Committee in the Constitution, which
provisions should set out its main powers and basic principles, notably its
independence, including of financial nature, as well as the rules governing the
appointment of its members and the termination of their mandates; [pars 16 and
17, 27-28, 47-48 and 72];
B. To specify in the Law that the Higher Committee is a general, autonomous and
independent human rights body with wide competences; [pars 22 and 27];
C. To specify in the Law that the Higher Committee may provide opinions,
recommendations, reports or proposals on any matters related to the promotion of
human rights not only upon request by the competent public institutions, or based
on an individual complaint, but also upon its own initiative; [par 22, 25 and 37];
D. To specify the basic parameters of procedures for submitting and handling human
rights complaints in the Law, including the mandate of the Higher Committee to
resolve such complaints itself (unless another independent human rights body is
mandated to do so), by a variety of means including amicable settlements, findings
and recommendations; [pars 23-24, and 69];
E. To include in the Higher Committee’s tasks under the Law, as part of its general
mandate, the ability to make recommendations regarding amendments to and
adoption of laws and administrative measures, and the ratification of relevant
international instruments, as well as monitoring of implementation of such
instruments; [par 27];
F.
To ensure in the Law that the composition of the Higher Committee and support
staff reflects diverse segments of Tunisian society, professions and backgrounds,
as required by its powers, as well as an equal representation of women and men,
and a balance of regions; [par 44];
G. To incorporate in the Law a broad, transparent and open selection and
appointment process aiming to select/appoint members of the Higher Committee
of diverse backgrounds and professions, due to their individual skills and
experience, and based on pre-determined, objective and publicly available criteria;
[pars 44 and 48];
H. To include in the Law a provision granting immunity from legal liability for Higher
Committee members and support staff, for actions undertaken in their official
capacity; this provision should also outline circumstances, and ensuing
procedures, in which such immunity may be waived; [par 51];
I.
To set out clearly in the Law the circumstances and procedure for cases in which
members of the Higher Committee end their term of office prematurely, which shall
involve also independent bodies, and provide the respective members with the
right to be heard; [pars 55-56 and 72];
J.
To see to it that the Law restricts public executive authorities from having control
over the allocation of public funds to the Higher Committee in a manner that could
interfere with its financial independence; [par 63];