A/HRC/41/35/Add.2 xenophobic propaganda spread by some media outlets, led to thousands of killings, created hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons and refugees, and divided the country into a rebel-held north and a Government-controlled south. Despite the signing of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement in January 2003, the declaration of a complete ceasefire in May 2003, the establishment of United Nations peacekeeping missions and the formation of a Government of National Reconciliation, violence and serious human rights violations have continued. 57. During the visit, the violent undermining of the scope for freedom of opinion and expression was observed. Obstructions to the work of journalists and on the circulation of newspapers were recorded in areas under rebel control, while attacks on journalists and media outlets by pro-government forces were reported as taking place in Abidjan. A deeply partisan press compounded existing tensions. Instances of incitement to hate and violence were common. Foreign journalists working in the country regularly received death threats. 58. The recommendations made subsequent to the visit focused on the need to restore stability as a baseline from which to build protections around freedom of opinion and expression. They concerned the implementation of the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement; the release of persons detained on the basis of their opinions or beliefs; a review of the legal framework governing media; and cooperation with international organizations. Table 5 contains a summary of the status of implementation of the recommendations. 59. Much has occurred in the country since the visit, including the outbreak of fresh violence in 2010 following contested elections. With media outlets supporting either the newly declared President, Alassane Ouattara, or the former President, Laurent Gbagbo, the conflict led to at least 3,000 deaths and mass human rights violations committed by all sides. The violence continued until April 2011, at which time Mr. Ouattara assumed the Presidency following the arrest of Mr. Gbagbo. 60. The Special Rapporteur regrets that no submission was received from the Côte d’Ivoire authorities in support of the present report. He recognizes the challenges entailed in following up on the visit, given the events that have taken place in the country since the visit. However, he stresses the value in attempting to understand the effects of the visit at the time and in engaging in dialogue aimed at the promotion and protection of freedom of opinion and expression today. 61. A number of the recommendations were implemented soon after the visit. In December 2004, new press laws were introduced, decriminalizing some “press offences” and creating the National Council for Audiovisual Communication and the National Press Council as regulatory bodies. In 2005, a National Human Rights Commission was established, beginning operation in January 2007. In 2008, a prohibition against incitement to hate and violence was incorporated into the Penal Code. While these were positive steps, several issues would blunt the effectiveness of these measures. Suffering from a lack of civil society representation and independence, the National Human Rights Commission was reformed in 2012 and 2018. Concerns as to the independence of the National Press Council have been raised since its creation, in particular with regard to its actions during 2010–2011 crisis and the fines imposed subsequently on opposition media. Hate speech continues to be a problem today. 62. The recommendations made were closely aligned with the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement, seeking to tackle the underlying factors that enabled or contributed to the outbreak of violence in 2002. Substantial action was not taken on many of the recommendations, however, until after the events of 2010–2011. Despite the creation of a United Nations peacekeeping operation in February 2004, with a mandate to support investigations into human rights violations, impunity surrounding violations committed during the conflict in 2002 persisted. Significant progress on the demobilization of militias was not made until after August 2012. Discriminatory constitutional provisions surrounding eligibility for the Presidency remained in place until the adoption of a new Constitution on 30 October 2016. 63. As a result, many of the issues underlying the conflict in 2002, and the limitation on freedom of opinion and expression during the conflict, were left unaddressed. Widespread human rights violations, including attacks on press freedoms, continued, and ultimately 20