A/HRC/25/73 National Social Cohesion Programme, the Directorate for War Victims and the National Human Rights Commission. The respective mandates of these bodies should be the subject of a political consensus and should enjoy the public and unanimous support of everyone involved in the country’s political and social life. 18. The Independent Expert should like to emphasize in this context that the National Social Cohesion Programme has an important role to play in the country’s reconciliation and democratic reconstruction process. He hopes the authorities will take into account the Ivorian people’s traditional values and culture of tolerance and coexistence while promoting social cohesion, by involving traditional and religious chiefs in the dialogue and reconciliation process. It is through such synergy that modern human rights can be integrated into the traditional values of Ivorian society. In order to have social cohesion for national reconciliation, all communities must share their sensitivities with each other and undergo a collective catharsis, showing a maximum of concern for the situation of the victims of the crisis. D. Community conflicts and rural land management 19. The Independent Expert welcomes the adoption on 13 September 2013 of the following laws: the Act on acquisition of nationality by declaration (Act No. 2013-653); the Act authorizing the President to ratify the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness of 1961 (Act No. 2013-647) and the Act on the time allowed to assert customary rights to lands covered by customary law (Act No. 2013-655). These laws represent a clear break from a situation long characterized by political and ethnic manoeuvring, a genuine time bomb that had fuelled the culture of violence, eroded the values and traditions of tolerance and coexistence and undermined this country and its region, which has a long history of heavy immigration. 20. That notwithstanding, the Independent Expert should like to emphasize that such issues should be the subject of a substantive debate. They call for lasting solutions. He calls upon the country’s authorities to work for a national consensus on these basic questions and to include them in the inclusive democracy and political dialogue processes. 21. In June 2013 the Government, through the Société de développement des forêts (Forest Development Corporation) (SODEFOR), carried out an eviction operation in the Niégré forest reserve (88 km from Sassandra).2 During this operation some serious incidents were reported, including the death of three persons, ill-treatment, rapes, extortion and the destruction of property by the Forces Républicaines de Côte d’Ivoire (FRCI) and employees of SODEFOR. Over 20,000 people reportedly had to leave the forest, fleeing to villages and camps in the vicinity. 22. Since July, seven community conflicts have been reported: in Angovia (80 km from Daloa), Divo, Facobly (25 km from Man), Goya 2 (10 km from Guiglo), Nienesso (13 km from Odienné) and Odienné. Four people were reportedly killed and one injured during these conflicts. The Independent Expert is concerned about persistent conflicts between herders and farmers and draws attention to the tensions resulting from competition for access to natural resources around mines. 23. The Independent Expert notes the efforts made by the President to encourage the return of persons who left the country owing to the crisis. In particular, on 19 October 2013, President Ouattara took part in a meeting held in Zwedru, Liberia, by the Joint Council of Chiefs and Elders of the communities along the border between Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire, 2 GE.14-10154 Another eviction operation was conducted at Mount Péko in May 2013. 7