A/HRC/10/29 (c) General comments made by other relevant stakeholders 319. Amnesty International welcomed Burundi’s support of recommendations to establish an independent national human rights commission, compliant with the Paris Principles. It was concerned, however, that the draft bill, drawn up on 27 November 2008 by the Council of Ministers, would create a commission that would fall far short of the Paris Principles by severely restricting its mandate, powers of inquiry, jurisdiction and independence. It urged the Government to reconsider the preceding version of the draft bill, which provided a higher level of independence and capacity for the commission. Amnesty International strongly urged the Government to support the recommendations calling on Burundi to ensure that no one was subject to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and to reconsider the inclusion of provisions criminalizing same-sex sexual relations in the draft criminal code. It regretted that Burundi had not expressly supported recommendations to respect freedoms of expression, association and assembly, and indicated that several prisoners of conscience remained in detention, among them Juvénal Rududura, Vice-President of the trade union of non-magistrate staff at the Department of Justice, and the journalist Jean-Claude Kavumbagu. It called on Burundi to immediately and unconditionally release those arrested solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression. 320. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Action Canada for Population and Development, in a joint statement, welcomed recent steps taken to integrate fundamental human rights norms into the penal code, in particular the abolition of the death penalty. However, they remained concerned that, although the Senate had rejected the provision that would have criminalized consensual homosexual conduct, the National Assembly had recently voted to restore such a provision. They urged legislators to eliminate the new provision or the President to veto it. They added that such provision would place Burundi at odds with the overwhelming movement across the world that had seen progress towards decriminalization, and violate the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It would severely hamper Burundi’s efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic and force a part of Burundi’s population into silence and invisibility. 321. Human Rights Watch welcomed the report on Burundi. It noted with concern the recent decision by the National Assembly to advance an amendment to the penal code that would criminalize homosexuality, contrary to the recommendations made by Belgium, Chile and Slovenia. It encouraged the joint committee to eliminate criminalization of homosexuality, and if needed, the President to veto such a law. Human Rights Watch was deeply concerned about the prevalence of illegal and arbitrary arrests, many of which were politically motivated, and considered that Burundi should accept France’s recommendation to ban all secret places of detention. It deeply regretted that Burundi had rejected the recommendations of Italy, Switzerland and others to take all measures to guarantee the freedoms of expression and association. It added that the judicial system had been abused for prosecutions of opposition leaders and others who spoke out against the Government, noting in particular the arbitrary detention of Juvénal Rududura, Pasteur Mpawenayo, Gérard Nkurunziza and Jean-Claude Kavumbagu. This called into question the independence of the judiciary, a subject of concern for Azerbaijan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Human Rights Watch was concerned at the fact that, in the lead-up to the 2010 elections, attempts to intimidate members of the opposition had been made. Burundi should act immediately to put an end to such activities, thereby implementing Japan’s recommendation, supported by Burundi, to do its utmost to ensure that political parties are safeguarded in the elections. 322. The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues requested the reintroduction in the bill relating to the national commission on human rights of provisions to guarantee its 136 GE.09-17451