A/HRC/31/78 I. Introduction 1. This report is submitted pursuant to resolution 29/24 of the Human Rights Council of 3 July 2015, whereby the Council decided to extend the mandate on capacity-building and technical cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire in the field of human rights for a period of one year and requested the Independent Expert to submit a report to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-first session and his final recommendations at its thirty-second session. 2. The present report is the outcome of the Independent Expert ’s third visit to Côte d’Ivoire, which took place from 2 to 12 November 2015, and covers the period from 1 September to 31 December 2015. During this mission the Independent Expert met with a number of senior officials of Côte d’Ivoire and with both national and international stakeholders. He also held meetings with the Prime Minister and other members of the Government, including the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Human Rights and Civil Liberties, the Minister of the Interior and Security, and the Minister of Solidarity, the Family, and Women’s and Children’s Affairs. 3. The Independent Expert also met with officials in various strategic areas, including the Independent Electoral Commission, the National Commission on Reconciliation and Compensation for Victims, the National Programme for Social Cohesion and the Unit for Coordination, Follow-up and Reintegration. The Independent Expert also met with senior justice officials, including the Prosecutor General of the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor-General of the Court of Appeals of Abidjan and the Public Prosecutor of the Court of First Instance of Abidjan, who is also in charge of the Special Investigation Unit. 4. The Independent Expert talked with representatives of political parties and civil society institutions, including non-governmental human rights organizations and victims associations. He met with the General Staff o f the Armed Forces and with members of the diplomatic corps and with officials from various United Nations agencies. He also had the opportunity to participate in a workshop on mediation and human rights organized by the Ombudsman. On this occasion, as in the past, he was able to visit several places of detention. 5. The Independent Expert sought to gather information about the way that the human rights situation in Côte d’Ivoire has evolved, which allowed him to continue to develop recommendations concerning ways of improving the situation. Another of his objectives was to continue his discussions with the Ivorian authorities regarding what they need in order to build capacity in this respect. 6. The Independent Expert wishes to express his gratitude to the Ivorian authorities for having invited him to their country and for their candid and sincere cooperation. He also wishes to thank all the persons with whom he met in order to gather information and discuss issues relating to his mission. He is very grate ful to the officials of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and the staff of the Human Rights Division of UNOCI for the extremely valuable support which they provided during his visit. GE.16-00901 5/23