A/HRC/42/38/Add.1 III. Legal, policy and institutional frameworks 15. The principal law of Cabo Verde is the Constitution (adopted in 1992 and revised in 1995, 1999 and 2010). The Constitution refers to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its article 17 and covers a wide range of human rights, including the rights to housing, health, social security and access to justice, as well as the principles of equality and universality. Articles 41, 75 and 82 refer to the right to develop one’s personality. 16. Cabo Verde is a parliamentary republic. Its executive branch is led by the Council of Ministers appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The President is elected by popular vote for a five-year term; the Prime Minister is nominated by the National Assembly and appointed by the President. The legislative branch consists of the National Assembly, which has 72 seats and whose members are elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The judicial system consists of the Supreme Court of Justice, courts of first instance, the court of audit, and military, fiscal and customs courts. Legislation provides the possibility to establish judicial courts of second instance and administrative courts. In terms of political participation, there is gender parity in the executive branch, but in the legislative branch and at the municipal level women hold only one fifth of all eligible positions. 17. The country is divided into 22 municipalities. Municipal administrations consist of an assembly, elected by the voters residing in the territorial area of the local administration in accordance with the system of proportionate representation. Mayors are elected through direct universal suffrage. In accordance with the Constitution, municipalities are separate legal entities with administrative autonomy. According to the legislation on municipalities (Law 134/IV of 1995), municipal responsibilities include functions that are close to the population, such as municipal planning, sanitation, health care, housing, education, road transportation, culture, sports, tourism, municipal policing and rural development. 10 The local administration may constitute associations and federations for the pursuit of common interests. There are, however, overlaps in and conflict between the competences of the central and local governments. According to some reports, improvements in legislation regulating local finances and territorial planning and on decentralization are needed. 11 18. At the time of the visit, the Special Rapporteur was informed about draft legislation, pending approval in the parliament, that would decentralize certain functions from the State to the municipal level; the exact distribution of powers had not yet been determined. From the standpoint of the right to development, the decentralization of responsibilities may be a positive step, if it is implemented in a way that brings decision-making closer to the communities that are affected by the respective decisions. If proper consultative mechanisms are built into and budgeted for in the revised distribution of powers, the above initiative would constitute a good practice, with the potential to address the governance and development challenges that the geography of Cabo Verde presents. 19. A national human rights committee was established in 2001; in 2004 it was replaced by the National Commission for Human Rights and Citizenship (Decree-Law No. 38/2004 of 11 October 2004). The Commission’s President, however, has to date been nominated by the Minister of Justice and its budget forms part of the budget of the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, the Commission does not fully comply with the independence requirements set out in the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). Recommendations to reform the Commission have been made by treaty bodies12 and, notably, by States during the universal periodic review. 13 The Commission has a network of representatives throughout the territory of Cabo Verde (focal points in all 22 municipalities on all nine of the country’s inhabited islands), but their capacity could be strengthened. It also participates in consultations with the Government to define national legislation in the framework of 10 11 12 13 See www.oecd.org/regional/regional-policy/profile-Cape-Verde.pdf. Ibid. See, for example, E/C.12/CPV/CO/1, para. 5. See A/HRC/39/5. 5