PRST/35/1 Situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire

GE.17-11043 (E) 050717 210717

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Human Rights Council Thirty-fifth session

6-23 June 2017

Agenda 10

President’s statement

PRST 35/1. Situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire

At the 37th meeting, held on 23 June 2017, the President of the Human Rights

Council made the following statement:

“The Human Rights Council,

1. Thanks the Independent Expert on the enhancement of capacity-

building and technical cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire in the field of human rights

for his report1 on the human rights situation in Côte d’Ivoire and notes the latest

legal and political developments in the country, in particular the following:

(a) The adoption of a new Constitution establishing the Third Republic,

which strengthens the rule of law, the protection of public freedoms, democratic

governance and gender equality;

(b) The inauguration of the new Parliament and the new Government in

December 2016 and January 2017;

(c) The appointment of a Vice-President under the new Constitution;

(d) The adoption by the Council of Ministers, on 13 April 2017, of a

decree establishing a national committee to combat trafficking in persons, pursuant

to Act No. 2016-1111 of 8 December 2016 on combating trafficking in persons;

(e) The adoption by the Council of Ministers, on 14 April 2017, of a bill

to suppress the smuggling of migrants, in view of the worrying situation faced by

migrants;

(f) The adoption by the Government, on 17 May 2017, of a decree

establishing an interministerial committee for the follow-up and implementation of

recommendations in the area of international humanitarian law;

(g) The signing of Decree No. 2016-373 of 3 June 2016 on the

establishment, powers, organization and functioning of a national committee to

combat conflict-related sexual violence;

2. Welcomes the legislative reforms to the Criminal Code, the Code of

Criminal Procedure, the Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedure, and

1 A/HRC/35/43.

United Nations A/HRC/PRST/35/1

General Assembly Distr.: General 3 July 2017

English

Original: French

2 GE.17-11043

encourages the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to monitor the reforms necessary for

the modernization of the judicial system and to develop and implement actions to

reduce the duration of pretrial detention and improve detention conditions;

3. Also welcomes the continuation of judicial proceedings in Côte

d’Ivoire, in accordance with the international standards guaranteeing a fair trial, and

encourages the country to prosecute all the alleged perpetrators of human rights

violations, particularly those committed during the post-election crisis of 2010-2011;

4. Welcomes the significant progress made in the national reconciliation

process, which has been marked by events including the return from exile of several

high-ranking officials and supporters of the former regime and the release of a

number of alleged perpetrators of acts of violence committed during the 2010-2011

election period, and encourages the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to continue its

efforts to achieve national reconciliation;

5. Welcomes the publication on 25 October 2016 of the report of the

Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which has helped to bring out the

truth, to disseminate information and to raise national and international awareness of

the outcome of the Commission’s work, with a view to promoting forgiveness and

national reconciliation, and encourages the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to take

actions to raise public awareness of the content of the report and to take into account

its recommendations;

6. Also welcomes the continued provision of compensation from a

victim compensation fund totalling 10 billion CFA francs, the aim of which is to

place victims at the centre of the national reconciliation process, and calls upon the

international community to provide support to the fund;

7. Commends the renewed commitment of Côte d’Ivoire to the United

Nations system, as evidenced by its election to the Security Council as a non-

permanent member in June 2017;

8. Welcomes the long-standing tradition in Côte d’Ivoire of welcoming

and providing hospitality to migrants, who constitute about 25 per cent of the total

population, and commends the efforts of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to

integrate them;

9. Welcomes the efforts of Côte d’Ivoire in the area of statelessness and

encourages the country to continue sharing experiences and good practices;

10. Also welcomes the adoption of Decree No. 2017-121 of 22 February

2017 on the procedures for implementation of Act No. 2014-388 of 20 June 2014 on

the promotion and protection of human rights defenders;

11. Notes with appreciation the implementation of the programme for the

disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants, 72 per cent

funded by Côte d’Ivoire, and the implementation of security sector reform and the

plan for reconciliation, social cohesion, reconstruction and peacebuilding, and

encourages the Ivorian authorities to continue these reforms in order to consolidate

the progress achieved;

12. Recommends that the Government of Côte d’Ivoire continue its

efforts to build capacities and cohesion within the armed forces of the country in

order to strengthen its institutions, thereby contributing to national development and

full respect for human rights;

13. Notes that women are underrepresented in national institutions,

including the Parliament and Government, and strongly encourages the Government

of Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen, support and promote the full participation of women

in leadership positions and at all levels of decision-making in the social, economic

and political life of the country, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the

new Constitution;

GE.17-11043 3

14. Encourages the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to continue to strengthen

the rule of law, in particular by combating impunity;

15. Also encourages the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to continue to

cooperate fully and effectively with the human rights treaty bodies and to submit its

pending reports to the relevant bodies;

16. Encourages the strengthening of the prison system and of the

provisions that guarantee the independence of the judiciary, with the aim of ensuring

the proper functioning of public institutions and services and the enjoyment of all

human rights;

17. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights to provide the technical assistance requested by the Government of

Côte d’Ivoire in order to strengthen the capacity of the National Human Rights

Commission of Côte d’Ivoire in view of the expiry of the mandate of the

Independent Expert and the closure of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire

in June 2017, and encourages the Ivorian authorities to bring the Commission into

conformity with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the

promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles) and to provide it with

the necessary means to carry out its work independently;

18. Strongly encourages the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to continue to

adopt the necessary legislative, policy and legal measures to safeguard the human

rights of all vulnerable persons, and to pay particular attention to the fate of missing

persons and persons who have been displaced, resettled or reintegrated or who are

refugees;

19. Also strongly encourages the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to continue

to combat gender-based violence and discrimination;

20. Strongly commends the important work done by the Independent

Expert on the situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire within the framework of

technical assistance and capacity-building;

21. Calls upon the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, with support from all

relevant stakeholders, including civil society, to implement the recommendations

made by the Independent Expert in his report and to take the necessary legal

measures to implement them in the short term, in particular through the National

Human Rights Commission and the technical ministries designated to take over the

Human Rights Division of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire;

22. Calls upon the international community to continue to support, upon

request, the National Human Rights Commission in its capacity-building efforts and

in enabling it to contribute effectively to the promotion and protection of the human

rights and fundamental freedoms of the Ivorian people, in accordance with the Paris

Principles;

23. Welcomes the cooperation of the Ivorian authorities with the United

Nations system as a whole, in particular the mechanisms of the Human Rights

Council, and their willingness to continue to work to uphold and promote human

rights in Côte d’Ivoire;

24. Express its gratitude to all bilateral and multilateral partners, civil

society and non-governmental organizations for the support and assistance they have

provided to the Government of Côte d’Ivoire throughout the years.”