RES/23/22 Technical assistance to Côte d’Ivoire in the field of human rights

GE.A/HRC/22/66. 3-15516 (E) 090713 100713

Human Rights Council Twenty-third session Agenda item 10 Technical assistance and capacity-building

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council**

23/22 Technical assistance to Côte d’Ivoire in the field of human rights

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights instruments,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006,

Recalling also Council resolutions 5/1, on institution-building, and 5/2, on the code of conduct for special procedures mandate holders of the Council, of 18 June 2007, and stressing that the mandate holder shall discharge his or her duties in accordance with those resolutions and the annexes thereto,

Recalling further Council resolutions S-14/1 of 23 December 2010 and 16/25 of 25 March 2011 concerning the situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire, Council resolution 17/21 of 17 June 2011 establishing the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire and Council resolution 20/19 of 6 July 2012 renewing the mandate of the Independent Expert,

Reaffirming that all States have a responsibility to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, as stated in the Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the international covenants on human rights and other relevant human rights instruments,

Welcoming the holding of local (municipal and departmental) elections in Côte d’Ivoire on 21 April 2013, which mark the completion of the process of establishing national institutions,

Noting that, while the situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire has improved, as indicated in the report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Côte

* Reissued for technical reasons on 10 July 2013. ** The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of

the Council on its twenty-third session (A/HRC/23/2), chap. I.

United Nations A/HRC/RES/23/22*

General Assembly Distr.: General 27 June 2013 English Original: French

2 GE.13-15516

d’Ivoire,1 it remains relatively fragile in view of the many challenges, particularly as regards the restoration of peace, national reconciliation and the fight against impunity, as well as security sector reform,

Gravely concerned by the resurgence of armed attacks on the Forces républicaines de Côte d’Ivoire and the forces of the United Nations in the exercise of their mandate to protect civilians,

1. Condemns the resurgence of attacks by unidentified armed groups in Côte d’Ivoire, which are liable to thwart the joint efforts of the Ivorian people and the international community to definitively overcome the effects of the post-election crisis in Côte d’Ivoire;

2. Deplores the attack on the Nahibly camp for displaced persons and urges the Ivorian Government to expedite the investigations under way to identify the perpetrators of these acts and to bring them before the competent courts;

3. Welcomes the substantial improvement in security matters in Côte d’Ivoire, as well as the establishment of the Special Investigative Unit and the National Security Council, particularly as regards their roles in early warnings and prevention of human rights violations;

4. Welcomes the continued cooperation of the Ivorian Government with the United Nations human rights machinery and its commitment to promote and protect human rights, and encourages the continuation of efforts to end all human rights violations, to prosecute the perpetrators of such acts and to provide assistance to victims;

5. Takes note of the reports and recommendations of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire;

6. Welcomes the commitments undertaken by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire at the twenty-second session of the Council to endorse the Independent Expert’s recommendations, particularly those related to strengthening democracy, combating impunity through the justice system and strengthening inclusive political pluralism and cultural and religious pluralism;

7. Also welcomes in this regard the establishment of a political framework for ongoing dialogue aimed at facilitating inclusive political pluralism, the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the adoption of new norms of family law to provide for equality between men and women in marriage, which constitute important progress in strengthening the legislative framework and thus in promoting and protecting human rights and ending impunity;

8. Takes note of the opening of the trial of some members of the Forces républicaines de Côte d’Ivoire and of the holding in Yamoussoukro, from 21 to 23 February 2013, of an international conference on impunity, organized by the Independent Expert;

9. Urges the Ivorian Government and all the actors concerned to support the effective implementation of the mandate of the Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Côte d’Ivoire, and invites the Commission to do all it can to meet the expectations of the Ivorian people and the international community in terms of redress and non-repetition;

10. Takes note of the publication of the work of the National Commission of Inquiry in Côte d’Ivoire, which is responsible for investigating the facts and circumstances

GE.13-15516 3

surrounding the allegations of serious abuses and human rights violations in Côte d’Ivoire following the presidential election of 28 November 2010, commends the relevance of the Commission’s conclusions and recommendations and urges the Ivorian Government to follow up on them;

11. Encourages the Ivorian Government to continue to ratify and implement international and regional human rights instruments, to comply with their reporting requirements and to promote human rights education;

12. Notes with concern the continuing instability of the humanitarian situation on the ground, and calls on United Nations agencies and other relevant actors to continue to cooperate with the Ivorian Government in providing assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons, in conformity with the measures put in place by the Government, so as to encourage their safe and voluntary return to their homes;

13. Notes also with concern the continued and recurring allegations of violence against women and children, and requests the Ivorian Government to do all it can to investigate such allegations;

14. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to provide the technical assistance requested by the Ivorian Government, including support for the Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and to work with it to identify other areas of assistance that will help Côte d’Ivoire to meet its human rights obligations;

15. Requests the international community to continue to support the reconstruction and reconciliation process under way in Côte d’Ivoire and to provide the assistance requested in the specific areas in which such assistance is necessary, including in strengthening the capacity of the mechanisms for combating violence against women and children;

16. Calls on the international community to support the national efforts made by Côte d’Ivoire and its institutions to improve the human rights situation in the country, and to respond to its requests for technical assistance in the humanitarian, educational, health, economic and social spheres;

17. Also calls on the international community to support the new National Human Rights Commission, through technical assistance and capacity-building programmes, with a view to enabling it to contribute effectively to the promotion and protection of the fundamental rights of the Ivorian people, in accordance with the Paris Principles;

18. Decides therefore to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire for a period of one year, from the twenty-third to the twenty-sixth session of the Human Rights Council;

19. Requests the Independent Expert to submit his report at the twenty-fifth session and his recommendations at the twenty-sixth session of the Human Rights Council;

20. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

40th meeting 14 June 2013

[Adopted without a vote.]