A/HRC/31/78 21. In certain locations, however, the population continues to oppose the exhumations for cultural reasons and, in some instances, as a way of expressing open or covert political dissent. Difficulties of this type have been experienced in Duékoué, in the western part of the country. This has blocked the progress of the investigation in Nahibly into reports of numerous bodies having been thrown into wells and has hindered efforts to uncover mass graves. Furthermore, exhumation work has not yet begun in the south-western region. In order to respect the traditions and sensibilities of the population, a great deal of tact is called for in dealing with these cases. In addition, in some instances, exhumations have been hampered by a lack of logistical support. This problem could be quickly remedied with the proper technical assistance. 22. While legal action is focusing on the crisis that broke out following the 2010 and 2011 elections, the fact remains that other serious human rights violations were committed during earlier crises, as detailed by various investigative committees of the United Nations. The perpetrators of these crimes should not be a llowed to go unpunished either. 23. It is important for these problems to be tackled soon while, at the same time, strictly upholding due process guarantees. The right of defendants and other accused persons to stand trial within a reasonable time is a pivotal component of those guarantees. The commendable efforts of the Ivorian authorities to build the capacity of the justice system by constructing and renovating courthouses, developing plans for the construction and renovation of places of detention and providing training to judges and other judicial personnel should be pursued and supported more actively by the international community. C. Combating sexual violence 24. UNOCI monitors the human rights situation throughout Côte d ’Ivoire on an ongoing basis and reports any human rights violations that are thought to have been committed by members of the army. Military authorities assured the Independent Expert that they systematically follow up on these reports, although it is sometimes very difficult to find the guilty parties. 25. Between June and October 2015, members of the Forces Républicaines de Côte d’Ivoire, working in cooperation with the Human Rights Division of UNOCI, organized three large workshops on combating sexual violence against women. One of the recommendations that came out of those workshops was that standards relating to the effort to combat impunity for acts of sexual violence commit ted in connection with armed conflicts should be included in the code of ethics for the armed forces that is currently being drawn up. This recommendation has already been submitted to the Minister of Defence. The army has also started to create a database on acts of sexual violence committed by military personnel, but this praiseworthy initiative requires material support if it is to be completed. 26. In the meantime, 30 focal points have been stationed in the various regions of the country and given the responsibility of reporting cases of gender-based violence. These focal points work with UNOCI field representatives and periodically organize activities to raise the awareness of members of the Forces Républicaines de Côte d’Ivoire about the need to prevent gender-based violence. 27. Côte d’Ivoire was delisted from the annex to the report of the Secretary -General on children and armed conflict in 2007 (see A/69/926 -S/2015/409, para. 57). This marks a significant advance in the area of children’s rights. If Côte d’Ivoire succeeds in launching a more forceful policy for the elimination of sexual violence, it may legitimately aspire to a time when no group in the country figures on the list of parties GE.16-00901 9/23