If I had to summarise what France does for human rights in a nutshell, I would say that it consists in transforming human rights into actual rights, by which I mean going from the ideal as it is invoked to the law as it is applied. That confrontation of the
ideal and the real is without a doubt the most difficult part of what we do. It brings us up against all the obstacles that the world puts in the way of the furtherance of rights. But it also stirs the heart because there is always a human dimension. In fields as varied as access to healthcare, the training of journalists, prison conditions and the demobilisation of
child soldiers, France is there, taking action. Those initiatives are true to the human rights strategy defined by the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs. We are producing this brochure because responsibility stands at the heart of what we do. We have an obligation not only to do what we say but also to say what we do, to establish tracking indicators and
to evaluate the effectiveness of our policies. France’s commitment to the cause of human rights stems from an obsession to serve not only the principles attached to its name but also the interests of the children, women and men who place their hope in it.

Full document - (PDF, 678 ko)

^{Online : 03.12.10}