A/HRC/27/50 mission in private sphere.49 Furthermore, the use of such arms shall be under the responsibility of the PSC and is covered by the provisions of the Criminal Code.50 39. The legislation of Côte d’Ivoire prohibits PSCs from being involved in administrative or investigative police activities and from participating in operations aimed at maintaining public order during political, sports, social, traditional, cultural or religious events.51 In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, PSCs are permitted to provide protection to persons and property, “insofar as they do not replace the police”, but they are prohibited from patrolling, arresting, carrying and using firearms, special devices and any other material normally reserved for the military and the police”.52 In Mali, PSCs in charge of surveillance, guarding, transport of funds and protection of persons are prohibited from participating in operations aimed at maintaining public order or limiting the free circulation of people or vehicles.53 None of the legislation analysed address the use of force and firearms that may overlap the functions of the police and the military or that may involve the direct participation of PSC personnel in hostilities during armed conflicts. 8. Accountability for violations of the law committed by PSC personnel and remedy for victims 40. Six of the States analysed have monitoring systems provided for in their respective laws,54 which are generally administered by the agency that authorizes or grants licences to PSCs. Monitoring the activities of PSCs include carrying out announced or unannounced, regular or ad-hoc inspections. 41. Only Cameroon’s legislation provides details on the scope of the monitoring and inspection activities of the monitoring body. It specifies that the inspection shall cover the staff, general recruitment conditions, cases of dismissal, respect for requirements concerning uniforms and badges, the validity of insurance coverage; the appropriateness of the types and quantity of communication, protection and alarm equipment used.55 Further to the laws regulating their activities, PSCs in Côte d’Ivoire are required to submit quarterly and annual activity reports to their licensing agencies or monitoring bodies;56 however, are not obliged to report on their compliance with other laws. Compliance with the standards of international human rights and humanitarian law is not a requirement of the responsibilities of the monitoring bodies. 42. Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Senegal are the only States in which PSCs are obliged to immediately report infractions or violations of the law committed by their personnel. In Côte d’Ivoire, PSC personnel must immediately inform the national defence and security forces of “any infraction or fact concerning the security of persons and property or State security” that they know about and must provide any information enabling the apprehension of the criminals. However, a serious restriction is attached to this provision; “under no circumstances shall such information be provided to a foreign power or a physical person or legal entity foreign to the Ivorian defence and security forces.”57 The legislation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo requires that 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 12 Mali, Decree No. 96-064, arts. 12 and 13. Mali, Decree No. 96-020, art. 18. Côte d’Ivoire, Decree No. 2005-73, art. 8 and Decree No. 2008/743, art. 6. Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ministerial Decree No. 98/008, arts. 1, 6 and 7. Mali, Decree No. 96-020, art. 12. The legislation available from the Democratic Republic of the Congo does not include any specific references to monitoring or inspections. Cameroon, Decree No. 2005/031, art. 25. Côte d’Ivoire, Decree No. 2005-73, art. 38 and Decree No. 743/2008, art. 19. Côte d’Ivoire, Decree No. 743/2008, art. 20.

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