A/HRC/25/73 82. The Independent Expert is concerned about the fact that the Ministry has excessive administrative control over the Commission. The Ministry sets the salary and compensation levels and in-kind benefits of the Commission’s officers (art. 25), determines allowances for the Commission’s sessions (art. 35) and adopts the Commission’s budget (art. 38). The Independent Expert calls for the Commission to be given the human and material resources required for it to carry out its mission and to ensure its independence in accordance with the Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (the Paris Principles) (General Assembly resolution 48/134 of 20 December 1993, annex). The law establishing the National Human Rights Commission should be reconsidered. VIII. Conclusions 83. Building democracy takes time. Côte d’Ivoire has made remarkable progress in the field of State governance and in macroeconomic management, and this will eventually no doubt have a positive impact on employment and socioeconomic conditions. In respect of the security situation, notwithstanding the arms embargo, the country has been able to significantly reduce external attacks, although the sluggish pace of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration remains a cause for concern. Progress has also been weak on issues such as the question of equitable justice and the persistence of problems related to landownership, the return of Ivorians from exile and nationality. 84. The Independent Expert notes with concern that, despite the establishment of the permanent framework for dialogue and sporadic contacts between political figures, the seeds of social fragmentation and political polarization are still there. The decision by the United Nations Security Council to consider reducing the staff of UNOCI should take into consideration the fragility of the situation, marked by unresolved problems that have historically lain at the core of the political and social crisis in the country. Côte d’Ivoire will not be safe from violent social and political confrontation unless all its political figures assume sufficient responsibility for establishing a genuine democratic culture built on tolerance, mutual respect and comprehension and the primacy of the higher interests of the country’s long-suffering people. Along these lines, priority must be given to democratically and consensually reforming the Independent Electoral Commission and the electoral rolls, to establishing a legal status for the political opposition and for its activities and to strengthening the institutions of government. 85. The political dialogue under way between the opposition and the authorities must be fuelled and fortified by a moral catharsis. Political figures must show repentance for and public recognition of their historic responsibility for the deepseated causes of the long crisis the country has had to endure. In this spirit, one major test to be addressed right away is how to do away with a political dialogue marked by verbal violence, political polarization and partisan stigmatization. Political dialogue should serve as a basis for teaching democracy within one’s own political base and also for the population at large. 86. The authorities should take stock of the slow pace of national reconciliation and turn to the cultural and ethical heritage of coexistence among the country’s communities, who have progressed beyond the official reconciliation that has been undertaken by the Government. The effort to achieve Ivorian social cohesion must be fed by local initiatives taken by the country’s communities. The extension of the mandate of the Dialogue, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, with its activities more coherently directed and focused on the public inquiries and hearings phase, 18 GE.14-10154