A/HRC/42/6 11. At the domestic level, Côte d’Ivoire had taken a number of steps to bring its national legislation into line with international instruments. The legislation concerned included the 2014 Act on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Defenders and its implementing decree, and the 2015 amendment to the Criminal Code, which incorporated the definition of crimes provided for by the Rome Statute. 12. In the area of justice and the right to a fair trial, Côte d’Ivoire had adopted a new Code of Criminal Procedure on 27 December 2018. In addition, a new Criminal Code was in the process of being adopted. 13. The major reforms undertaken ensured the adequate promotion or enhanced protection of people’s rights, insofar as they guaranteed the independence of the judiciary, the fight against impunity and the consolidation of the rule of law. The reforms involved the adoption of laws on the jurisdiction, composition and functioning of the Supreme Court, the Court of Cassation, the Council of State and the Court of Auditors. 14. In terms of governance, Côte d’Ivoire had adopted a national development plan for the period 2016–2020, comprising five strategic areas. 15. With regard to national reconciliation, Côte d’Ivoire had adopted the updated 2016– 2020 National Strategy for Reconciliation and Social Cohesion and, in 2017, had set up a special fund with an initial contribution of approximately €15.2 million, increased to €21.3 million in 2019, with a view to compensating victims of the crises in the country. An amnesty order had been issued on 6 August 2018 and ratified by the National Assembly on 21 December 2018. The national reconciliation process continued apace, with the return to the country of more than 270,000 Ivorian refugees, out of the 300,000 persons recorded during the post-election crisis. 16. The Ivorian Government had also agreed to reform the Independent Electoral Commission, in accordance with the judgment of 18 November 2016 of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in preparation for the 2020 presidential election. To that end, a constructive dialogue had been initiated with all stakeholders. 17. At the institutional level, in order to bring its national human rights institution into line with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) and the Belgrade principles on the relationship between national human rights institutions and parliaments, in 2018, Côte d’Ivoire had adopted legislation replacing the National Human Rights Commission of Côte d’Ivoire with the National Human Rights Council. 18. The Council had become operational on 4 April 2019, with the establishment of its Executive Bureau, and was therefore in a position to fulfil its mandate. 19. The Ivorian Government had taken several measures to combat poverty, including by relaunching the National Solidarity Fund, to reduce regional disparities, and creating 2,623,655 jobs between 2011 and 2016. To consolidate and speed up implementation of its policy to combat poverty, Côte d’Ivoire had declared 2019 the “year of social action” and launched a social programme for the period 2019–2020 entitled PSGouv, with a budget of €1.1 billion. 20. With regard to the right to education, Côte d’Ivoire had made school compulsory for children between 6 and 16 years of age by means of a law passed on 17 September 2015. 21. In terms of health care, Côte d’Ivoire had introduced a policy that targeted the free provision of health care for children up to the age of 5 years, birth kits for women, medical tests for malaria and treated mosquito nets for the general public. 22. In the area of women’s rights and gender equality, the Ivorian Government had set up two funds to support women’s income-generating activities, namely the Women and Development Fund and the Côte d’Ivoire Women’s Support Fund. The Government had also equipped police stations with offices specifically to handle cases of gender-based violence. 23. A bill introducing measures to improve the representation of women in elected assemblies was in the process of being adopted. GE.19-11244 3