Organization

Ofpra's Board of Directors is chaired by Mr. Jean-François Monteils, who holds the title of conseiller maître at the French Court of Audit (Cour des Comptes) and was appointed to Ofpra’s Board of Directors by the decree of the President of the Republic dated 17 April 2019.

The Board of Directors was established by Act No. 2006-911 of 25 July 2006 before having its membership and remit amended by Act No. 2015-925 of 29 July 2015 on asylum reform, which introduced equality mechanisms and increased the participation of elected officials and representatives of civil society.

Ofpra's Director-General takes part in the Board's meetings in an advisory capacity.

Remit

The Board of Directors sets the general guidelines concerning Ofpra's activities and deliberates on the arrangements for implementing the provisions with regard to granting refugee status or subsidiary protection .

In particular, it establishes the list of asylum seekers' countries of origin that may be considered safe countries of origin in light of the guarantees of protection that these countries' authorities provide against persecution and abusive treatment as well as the penalties they envisage in the event of a proven violation of individual rights. Since the Act of 29 July 2015, the Board of Directors has the specific responsibility of ensuring that the countries on the list remain up-to-date and suitable. It must regularly re-examine this list and remove any countries no longer meeting the definition of safe countries of origin, or add those that meet the legal criteria.

Membership

Pursuant to the provisions of Article L. 121-13 of the French Code for Entry and Residence of Foreigners and Right of Asylum ( CESEDA ), the Board of Directors has 17 voting members:

•    two MPs (députés) (one woman and one man), appointed by the French National Assembly (Assemblée nationale);
•    two senators (one woman and one man), appointed by the French Senate;
•    two representatives of France at the European Parliament (one woman and one man), appointed by decree;
•    ten State representatives;
•    one representative of Ofpra’s staff, elected for three years by Ofpra’s agents.

Three qualified individuals also sit on the board, in a non-voting capacity except as regards decisions bearing on the establishment of the list of safe countries of origin; one of them represents the organisations in charge of receiving and managing asylum seekers and refugees. The representative of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR ) also attends meetings where s/he presents his/her observations, in an advisory capacity. Lastly, any stakeholder on whom the agenda has a bearing can be invited to attend meetings.