RES/32/30 Capacity-building and technical cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire in the field of human rights

GE.16-12197 (E) 020816 030816

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Human Rights Council Thirty-second session

Agenda item 10

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 1 July 2016

32/30

Capacity-building and technical cooperation with 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 its resolutions 5/1, on institution-building of the Human Rights

Council, and 5/2, on the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate Holders of the

Council, both of 18 June 2007, and emphasizing that the mandate holder shall discharge his

or her duties in accordance with those resolutions and the annexes thereto,

Recalling further its resolutions S-14/1 of 23 December 2010 and 16/25 of 25 March

2011, on the situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire, 17/21 of 17 June 2011, establishing

the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire,

20/19 of 6 July 2012 and 23/22 of 14 June 2013, renewing the mandate of the Independent

Expert, 26/32 of 27 June 2014, establishing the mandate for capacity-building and technical

cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire in the field of human rights, and 29/24 of 3 July 2015,

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,

Emphasizing the importance of efforts for lasting reconciliation by the National

Commission of Inquiry, the Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the

National Commission for Reconciliation and Compensation of Victims, and encouraging

the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to implement their recommendations in order to

contribute to reconciliation,

United Nations A/HRC/RES/32/30

General Assembly Distr.: General 15 July 2016

English

Original: French

2 GE.16-12197

Noting that the situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire has improved significantly

and that it should nevertheless be monitored, given the numerous challenges, notably the

restoration of peace, national reconciliation and combating impunity,

Concerned at the continuing sporadic armed attacks on the Forces républicaines de

Côte d’Ivoire in the exercise of their mandate to protect civilians,

1. Condemns the terrorist attacks that occurred in Grand-Bassam on 13 March

2016, which are liable to thwart the joint efforts of the Ivorian people and the international

community to bring security and peace to the country;

2. Applauds the successful holding of the presidential elections of October

2015, considered to be free and transparent by all national and international stakeholders,

and welcomes the overall stability of the security situation in Côte d’Ivoire, as indicated in

the special report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Côte

d’Ivoire 1 and the report of the Independent Expert on capacity-building and technical

cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire in the field of human rights;2

3. Welcomes the exemplary and continuing cooperation of the Government of

Côte d’Ivoire with the United Nations human rights machinery and its commitment to

promoting and protecting human rights, and encourages the continuation of efforts to end

all human rights violations in the country, to prosecute the persons responsible and the

perpetrators of such acts and to help victims;

4. Notes with appreciation the establishment of the Ministry of Solidarity,

Social Cohesion and Compensation of Victims, a breakthrough that will enhance the gains

made in the area of national reconciliation, while encouraging the Government of Côte

d’Ivoire to provide it with sufficient resources to fulfil its mission;

5. Also notes with appreciation the efforts made by the Government of Côte

d’Ivoire to align its domestic legal framework with the Rome Statute of the International

Criminal Court, including its initiative for the abolition of the death penalty and the

introduction into its domestic legal framework of international crimes such as genocide,

crimes against humanity and war crimes, superior responsibility for war crimes and the

non-applicability of any statute of limitations to such international crimes;

6. Encourages Côte d’Ivoire to continue its efforts to enhance capacity in its

judicial system and invites the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen human resource

capacity, to ensure that legal proceedings conform to international standards for a fair trial

and to prosecute all the alleged perpetrators of human rights violations, including those

committed during the post-election crisis;

7. Welcomes the continued work of the special investigation unit, encourages

the Ivorian authorities to continue to provide it with the necessary resources, and also

encourages the acceleration of the national processes of investigation and prosecution of the

persons responsible and the alleged perpetrators of the violence committed during the 2010-

2011 post-election period;

8. Encourages the Ivorian authorities to continue their efforts to improve

conditions of detention in prisons and to take steps to reduce overcrowding in prisons in

order to improve the care of minors and, in this regard, invites the international community

to support the efforts of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire;

1 S/2016/297.

2 A/HRC/32/52.

GE.16-12197 3

9. Welcomes the release, on 19 April 2016, to the President of the Republic, of

the report of the National Commission for Reconciliation and Compensation of Victims and

the recommendations provided by it to proceed with its publication and of the report of the

Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission;

10. Also welcomes the continuation of the dialogue between all political actors

aimed at facilitating inclusive political pluralism, while stressing the importance of the full

participation of women in the process of dialogue with all parties, and notes the continued

cooperation with the International Criminal Court and the adoption of new laws, significant

advances in strengthening the legislative framework and promoting and protecting human

rights;

11. Notes the commitment of the judicial authorities to ensure equitable justice

for all victims of the Ivorian crisis, a major component of reconciliation, through the

continuation of judicial proceedings, including the trial of members of the Forces

républicaines de Côte d’Ivoire, and the acceleration of the process of investigation and

prosecution of those responsible and the alleged perpetrators of the violence committed

during the 2010-2011 post-election period;

12. Welcomes the continuation of the electoral process and the arrangements for

holding fair, free, transparent, inclusive and peaceful general elections that guarantee

freedom of expression and the will of the people;

13. Takes note of the reports and recommendations submitted by the independent

Expert to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-first and thirty-second sessions;3

14. Applauds the commitments made by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire during

the various sessions of the Human Rights Council to endorse the Independent Expert’s

recommendations and its fruitful cooperation with the Independent Expert in the framework

of his mandate;

15. Welcomes the progress made by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire in

promoting respect for and protection of human rights, including its cooperation with the

special procedure mandate holders and treaty bodies and its efforts in ratifying international

and regional human rights instruments, and encourages it to continue these activities and to

continue its efforts to bring its national legislation into conformity with the international

and regional instruments that it has ratified by ensuring the effective implementation of

those instruments;

16. Notes with appreciation the continued improvement in the humanitarian

situation on the ground and calls on United Nations agencies and other relevant actors to

continue, at the request of the country, to provide 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;

17. Welcomes in this regard the actions of the Ministry of Solidarity, Social

Cohesion and Compensation of Victims, which have facilitated the return to Côte d’Ivoire,

since 3 May 2016, of nearly 2,000 Ivorian refugees and exiles in Liberia;

18. Notes the efforts made by the Ivorian authorities to combat sexual violence

against women and children, notably with the adoption of a national strategy to curb the

phenomenon, and the efforts made to protect children, and calls upon the Government to do

everything possible to continue investigations into the recurring allegations of violence

against women and children;

3 A/HRC/31/78 and A/HRC/32/52.

4 GE.16-12197

19. Welcomes in this regard the adoption on 3 June 2016 of a decree on the

establishment, responsibilities, organization and functioning of the National Committee to

Combat Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, which has been tasked with coordinating within

national security institutions the efforts of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to prevent

conflict-related sexual violence and respond to such violence and to enhance the fight

against impunity for crimes of sexual violence committed by armed men;

20. Calls upon the international community to continue, if necessary, 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;

21. Also calls upon the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to ensure the full

inclusiveness of the constitutional review process and to invite all Ivorian stakeholders,

including political parties, civil society and the media, to continue to work together to

consolidate national reconciliation and social cohesion, and urges the Ivorian authorities to

seize this opportunity to strengthen the legal framework for the protection of human rights

in the country;

22. 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, with a view to closing down 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;

23. Calls upon the international community to encourage the national efforts

made by Côte d’Ivoire and its institutions to strengthen the rule of law in the country, and

to respond to its requests for technical assistance in the humanitarian, educational, health,

economic and social spheres;

24. Also calls upon the international community to continue to support, upon

request, the National Human Rights Commission of Côte d’Ivoire 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;

25. Decides accordingly to extend, for a final one-year period, until 30 June

2017, the mandate on capacity-building and technical cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire in the

field of human rights;

26. Requests the Independent Expert to submit a report and his final

recommendations to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-fifth session.

45th meeting

1 July 2016

[Adopted without a vote.]