A/HRC/31/78 4. The role of the National Programme for Social Cohesion in the implementation of the national strategy for achieving reconciliation and social cohesion 36. The National Programme for Social Cohesion has a direct role to play in the reparation process and serves as the executive secretariat for the National Commission on Reconciliation and Compensation for Victims (pursuant to Decree No. 2015 -174 of 24 March 2015). In that capacity, it has worked to further the implementation of the pilot phase of the process for providing redress to crisis victims in Côte d ’Ivoire. A committee has been created to coordinate and monitor the reparation process under the supervision of the Commission. This committee is composed of representatives of the National Commission on Reconciliation and Compensation for Victims, the National Programme for Social Cohesion and six ministries. In late June 2015, the committee met and approved the list of victims prepared by the National Commission of Inquiry to be used as a basis for the pilot phase of the reparation process. 37. The Independent Expert sees a continuing need to find the best possible way of aligning this pilot phase with the efforts being undertaken by the National Commission on Reconciliation and Compensation for Victims and the National Programme for Social Cohesion with a view to establishing an appropriate framework for the compensation of all the victims. 5. Structural ties between the National Commission on Reconciliation and Compensation for Victims and the National Programme for Social Cohesion 38. The Independent Expert wishes to draw attention to the difficulty involved in coordinating the important roles performed in relation to reparation by the National Commission on Reconciliation and Compensation for Victims and the National Programme for Social Cohesion because the instruments that define those roles are unclear and open to divergent interpretations on the part of the two institutions. 39. The Independent Expert strongly recommends that the public authorities clarify this situation as soon as possible in order to expedite the reparation process, which is one of the pillars of national reconciliation. 40. The Independent Expert also calls upon the international community to provi de financial support for victim compensation funds and to continue to play an active role in building the human and material operating capacity of the National Commission on Reconciliation and Compensation for Victims and the National Programme for Socia l Cohesion. IV. The human rights situation A. Human rights in the context of the presidential elections 41. Clearly, the elections could not have been conducted so successfully in the absence of a basic respect for human rights on the part of the Ivorian authorities. This stance has paved the way for a constructive dialogue and has, in large measure, engendered a social environment that is conducive to the exercise of a number of fundamental political rights, such as the rights to freedom of expres sion and freedom of peaceful assembly. As observed by the Independent Expert in a press release dated 12 October 2015, at the start of the election campaign, Côte d’Ivoire needs peace and democracy in order to pursue its economic and human development proc esses and to reclaim its position as an open, inclusive country. The Independent Expert would also add that respect for human rights is the cornerstone for any s ustainable development process. 12/23 GE.16-00901