A/HRC/26/52 D. Institutional trends 1. Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration 16. The Independent Expert welcomes and supports the efforts to roll out the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme, and especially the positive developments such as the return of exiles, particularly military personnel who have answered the Government’s invitation to return and are contributing towards national reconciliation. In response to the rumours of corruption marring the programme, which the Independent Expert mentioned in his previous report (A/HRC/25/73, para. 31), the director of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Authority described a number of steps taken to make the process more reliable, including the expulsion and prosecution of fraudsters. The urgency of supporting the programme is made starker still by the worrying fact that former soldiers have allegedly been involved in recent acts of violence. 2. National Human Rights Commission 17. The Independent Expert strongly reiterates his call for the authorities to strengthen the independence of the Commission and enable it better to fulfil its key mandate to protect and promote human rights in Côte d’Ivoire, in keeping with the Paris Principles. 3. Administration of justice 18. The Independent Expert repeats his call for a review of the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in particular those whereby assize courts do not allow for appeals, which are fundamental to the principle of effective remedy, as set forth in article 2, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 19. He welcomes the adoption of Decree No. 2013-915 of 30 December 2013 on the special investigation unit, which is responsible for “investigations into offences committed during the crisis that followed the 2010 presidential election”.2 He notes with interest the changes made to the unit’s mandate, in particular the definition of its rationae temporis jurisdiction as from the 2010 post-election crisis and no earlier. He hopes that these changes will not unduly increase the prosecution’s caseload as it already has a backlog. The unit remains insufficiently staffed and hiring commitments have yet to be honoured. E. Persistent human rights violations 1. Violence against women 20. The Independent Expert remains concerned at the prevalence of rape in the country and regrets the fact that the justice system is not in a position to punish perpetrators as severely as it should, many of whom, thanks to their status, have benefited from a climate of impunity. He is further concerned at the practice, often by armed men, of extorting rape victims and at the rape of girls and gang rape, such as in Aboisso, Bondoukou, Bouaké, Daloa, Daoukro, Divo, Séguéla and Yamoussoukro. 21. The Independent Expert was informed of the case of a 35-year-old pregnant woman who was brutally beaten by a police officer in Bouaké on 11 April 2014. On 17 April, UNOCI reported that seven women had been brutally beaten and had their lives threatened during an eviction operation led by police officers and members of the Forces 2 6 Journal officiel de la République de Côte d’Ivoire, No. 17, 31 December 2013. The Decree abrogates the ministerial order of 24 June 2011 on the establishment of the special investigation unit whose mandate had ended on 30 December 2013. GE.14-02949