A/HRC/9/14 page 13 43. The workplan and the budget of the proposed commission were approved on 25 February 2008 by the follow-up technical committee, which was composed of members of the Government and civil society. However, the budget was not included in the national budget because of the absence of an enabling law. 44. During his second visit, in June 2008, the independent expert was informed that the law on the mandate, composition and functioning of the independent national human rights commission was under consideration by the Government. However, it remains to be seen whether that law will provide a strong mandate to the commission according to the Paris Principles. In this regard, the independent expert calls on the Government of Burundi to approve the draft law that was presented by the Ministry of Human Rights and present it to Parliament without delay. IV. HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION A. Major human rights violations and abuses 1. Violations of the right to life 45. During the reporting period, several cases of violations of rights to life were committed by law enforcement agencies and the rebel movement. For example, police officers killed two SNR members in Rutana province on 10 December 2007. The police claimed that they were killed during an operation to dismantle a network of bandits. This claim was contradicted by civil society representatives and the local population, who indicated that the victims’ bodies were found tied together in the river on 11 December 2007, with bullet wounds in the temple, which suggested that they had been summarily executed. 46. It was reported that FNL-Palipehutu combatants summarily executed a man and his two sons accused of witchcraft in Bujumbura Rural in November 2007. It seems that the victims were in conflict with their neighbours over a plot of land. This act demonstrates the incapacity of governmental forces to protect civilians in Bujumbura rural areas, where FNL combatants are still operating. 47. A soldier was arrested on 25 September 2007 in Makamba for allegedly killing a man whose motorcycle he had taken and kept on the premises of the fifth military region. At the time of the visit, the independent expert was not able to confirm whether he was still in detention. In addition, on 30 September an SNR staff member killed a civilian in Quartier Heba, Kamenge commune, in Bujumbura Mairie province. After the killing, members of the public attempted to lynch the killer. He was rescued by the authorities, taken to a hospital, then transferred to a safe place. 2. Violations of the right to physical integrity 48. Respect for the right to physical integrity improved slightly in the second half of 2007. This might be the result of intensive advocacy and training sessions organized by human rights non-governmental organizations and BINUB. During his visit the independent expert was told that the training sessions targeted law enforcement personnel as well as the administrators who had allegedly been involved in physical abuse of suspects. However, in the first half of 2008, allegations of ill-treatment committed by the security forces and the combatants of