A/HRC/25/73 Pedro, Nawa, Gbôklé, Gôh, Cavally, Indenie-Djuablin, Marahoué, Haut Sassandra, Tonkpi, Moronou and Guemon.3 29. The authorities have announced several initiatives to bring this situation under control, including awareness activities and identification of dozos, with the support of the civil registration body, the National Identification Office. The Independent Expert considers that there is an urgent need to draw up a legal framework governing the activities of dozos, applying the following principles: recognition of the status of dozo traditional culture using specific criteria, including the nomenclature of their cultural activities and the exclusive geographical limitation of their cultural activities; State oversight of the development and production of a dozo identification document, issued by recognized dozo authorities; and a commitment by the dozos to fully comply with the law and respect the exclusive authority of local and national representatives and institutions of the State. C. Situation of former combatants 30. Several Ivorian figures and international observers consider that the issue of former combatants is a major destabilizing factor for the country, both in terms of security and for national reconciliation and social cohesion. Former combatants are increasingly involved in the most serious incidents. The vast majority are still armed and have lost their original civilian occupations; they have no work or income and are stigmatized because of their past. The Independent Expert calls upon the public and private partners of Côte d’Ivoire to do more to help the Government deal with the situation of former combatants, who represent a real risk of destabilization for the country. 31. The Independent Expert has heard persistent rumours of corruption and nepotism in the former combatant reintegration programme. He calls upon the Ivorian authorities to ensure that the process is reliable, fair and transparent. Urgent measures are required to prevent former area commanders (sometimes called com’zones) from giving favourable treatment to men who fought under their command, by taking the place of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Authority or blocking its work in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme. To facilitate the work of the Authority, the Government should sever the link between the former area commanders and former combatants. D. Reform of the security sector 32. As serious human rights violations are still being committed by elements of the FRCI and dozos, and as a large number of former combatants have yet to be disarmed and consider violence as the sole solution to their predicament, the vetting of the security forces with UNOCI support would be particularly useful. The Independent Expert has noted with much hope that the head of the military chiefs of staff has expressed a commitment to prosecute those elements of the FRCI who are involved in human rights violations. 33. The Independent Expert encourages the Ivorian authorities to include intercultural education in the training of members of the military, gendarmes and police officers, so as to take into account the multi-ethnic dimension of Ivorian society, and consequently of its security forces. 3 GE.14-10154 Report on human rights abuses committed by dozos in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, UNOCI, June 2013, para. 35. Available (in French) at: www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/CI/CIRapportDozos .docx. 9

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