237. To comply with the provisions of Article 26 of the African Charter and the Paris Principles on national human rights institutions, Senegal reviewed legislation on the CSDH to make it the « appropriate entity tasked with promoting and protecting the rights and freedoms guaranteed73 » by the continental treaty. 238. In actual fact, Law 97-04 of 10 March 1997 provides that the CSDH is an autonomous institution vested with the mandate to promote and protect human rights in Senegal. It is this institutional development that earned it the status of an affiliate with the African Commission at its 28th Ordinary Session held 74 in Cotonou (Benin) in October-November 2000 . 239. Presided over by an independent personality appointed by the President of the Republic75 and composed of 29 members appointed for a 4-year term of office by an Order of the Minister of Justice76, the national human rights institution’s core mission is to serve as an interface between the Government, its various agencies and civil society as far as human rights issues are concerned. Based on this mandate, it may, on its own initiative, and at the request of Government, National Assembly or any other competent authority »:  Express an opinion or make recommendations on all human rightsrelated issues , including legislative, regulatory or administrative reviews in relation to human rights ;  Draw the attention of public authorities to cases of human rights violations, and where necessary, propose measures intended bring the situation to an end ;  Raise awareness about human rights by way of sensitizing the general public and the authorities through the information, teaching, media outreaches and organization of conferences and other appropriate mechanisms for disseminating information to the public ;  Create , collect and disseminate all human rights-related documentation ;  Ensure dialogue among social forces drawn from institutions and civil society organizations concerned with human rights issues and undertake any action where human rights abuses are acknowledged or brought to its notice by a public authority77 ;  Coordinate cooperation between Senegal and the United Nations bodies or any other regional human rights institutions, and provide advisory opinion on reports brought before them78 ; 73 74 75 76 77 78 Cf. Article 26 of the African Charter. Cf. Paragraph 11 of the Final Communiqué of the 28e Ordinary Session of the African Commission Cf. Decree No 97-638 of 23 June 1997. CF. Ministerial Order No 5824 of 28 May 1997. Cf. Article 2 of Law 97-04 of 10 March 1997 on the Senegalese Human Right Committee Cf. Paragraph 1 of Article 3 of Law 97-04 of 10 March 1997 on the Senegalese Human Rights Committee 53