A/HRC/13/56 510. Rencontre africaine pour la défense des droits de l’homme had followed closely Côte d’Ivoire’s human rights situation and commended it for its political will in signing the peace accords. It expressed concerns regarding widespread human rights violations perpetrated during the crisis by private militias, the police, Congolese militants, the military and Liberian mercenaries. The adoption of the recommendations would contribute to elucidate these crimes. It urged Côte d’Ivoire to combat impunity, improve prison conditions, redress the victims of the spillage of the Probo Koala ship and organize free and transparent elections. 511. Action Canada for Population and Development expressed its appreciation for the recommendations accepted by Côte d’Ivoire, in particular those relating to women. Regarding recommendation 83 on sexual violence, it called on Côte d’Ivoire to allocate additional resources for free medical assistance to victims of sexual violence, and the establishment of a national plan for sexual and reproductive health. It urged the Government to punish female genital mutilation and to carry out awareness-raising campaigns on this matter, as stated in recommendations 47 to 50. It requested the Government to reconsider its position on recommendation 28 in order to, at least, criminalize acts against the rights of persons belonging to sexual minorities. 4. Concluding remarks of the State under review 512. The head of the delegation recalled that, regarding treaty ratifications, the priority of Côte d’Ivoire was to overcome the current crisis before making the necessary constitutional changes enabling such ratifications. 513. With regard to the “Ivoirité” syndrome, Côte d’Ivoire disagreed with the interpretation made. The latest decisions taken concerning the electoral rolls did not concern the withdrawal of persons with Ivorian nationality from the rolls but were aimed at removing those who were not Ivorian and were not entitled to vote. This had led to the postponement of the ballots because there was a need to submit a transparent list to have truly transparent elections. 514. Concerning the rejected recommendations, Côte d’Ivoire referred to recommendation 23 (Belgium) and indicated that its legal order did not give investigative powers to a national committee, as only courts were vested with that competence. Such investigations were carried out daily, the results of which were made known, and offenders were punished if an offence had been committed. 515. With regard to gender identity and sexual orientation, Côte d’Ivoire recalled that there was no urgent need to take special measures since same-sex relations between consenting adults were not criminalized. 516. Regarding the recommendation on toxic wastes, punitive measures had been initiated against those responsible for the spilling of toxic wastes and some people had been imprisoned and sentenced to stiff penalties. With regard to civil damages being awarded to victims, Côte d’Ivoire had initiated proceedings that allowed victims to obtain financial compensation, which was shared among the victims. The State used some of that money to undertake protective actions for its population. The victims themselves had initiated proceedings with the London courts and were able to obtain a sum, which was distributed among them. Although there had been difficulties in sharing the money between two groups of victims and this case was heard by the Supreme Court, the victims had reached a gentleman’s agreement to share this money. Therefore the victims had received suitable compensation. 517. Côte d’Ivoire reassured all Member States that human rights were an indicator of its good governance. The delegation thanked the Council for all the recommendations and the troika members for their assistance. 156