A/HRC/31/78 rule of law and the democratic process, to the benefit of all Ivorians. This fundamental exploratory work should be undertaken in close cooperation with other national bodies such as the National Programme for Social Cohesion and the National Commission on Reconciliation and Compensation for Victims. III. National reconciliation: progress and challenges A. 1. Combating impunity through the justice system National reconciliation: a priority identified by the Head of State 16. The Independent Expert is pleased to note that, in his inaugural address on 4 November 2015, the President of Côte d’Ivoire reiterated his firm commitment to continue working to further the reconciliation process. This was, in fact, the first priority that he identified during his address. 2. Recent progress of the reconciliation process 17. A number of advances in this connection should be mentioned. The first has to do with the work being done by the judicial branch to combat impunity. The second relates to the area of transitional justice, which falls directly and indirectly under the responsibility of the National Commission on Reconciliation and Compensation for Victims and the National Programme for Social Cohesion. 3. Combating impunity through the justice system 18. The justice system continues to make progress in its effort to combat impunity. In 2014, the assize courts, which had not been in operation for more than a decade, were opened again. Since then they have tried a number of cases, including one in which 83 persons, including Simone Gbagbo, were charged with having committed acts of violence following the elections in 2011. Her application for judicial review is now before the Court of Cassation. The 83 defendants in this case were all members of the former regime. 19. Since the Independent Expert’s second visit, in May 2015, members of the Forces Nouvelles, who had joined the Forces Républicaines de Côte d ’Ivoire, have been prosecuted or are in the process of being brought to trial. The courts are therefore making headway in their efforts to strike a greater balance in terms of the prosecution of members of the two camps who took part in post-election violence in 2010 and 2011. The findings of the National Commission of Inquiry are now being drawn upon with a view to achieving that necessary balance in the interests of justice and reconciliation. B. Challenges 20. A number of difficulties have slowed the progress of some of the investigations now being conducted. It is true, nonetheless, that, with the help of the international community, the exhumations required in order to gather the necessary evidence have been completed in a number of locations (such as Toulepleu, Bloléquin, Guiglo and the whole of southern Abidjan). In those cases it is important to take the ne cessary steps to preserve and make use of this evidence and to return the victims ’ remains to their families as swiftly as possible so that they can give their loved ones proper burials and achieve some type of closure. 8/23 GE.16-00901