Mr President,
Allow me to extend the gratitude of Sweden to His Excellency Tia Kone, President of the Supreme Court, and his delegation, for taking an active part in our dialogue.
Sweden welcomes that the law in Côte d’Ivoire prohibits rape and female genital mutilation, and remains concerned about reports indicating that these laws are not enforced in practice. Also UNICEF has noted that female genital mutilation still remains prevalent in the country. The Secretary-General of the UN reported in July this year a disturbing trend of abduction, rape and violence against women and girls, and expressed concern that most perpetrators of violence against women enjoy impunity countrywide, due to corruption and the failure of the judicial system to address the issue adequately. We appreciate that the problem of violence against women was addressed in the presentation, and the clarifications the Head of Delegation just provided.
We also note that The Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights has voiced concern about the 2007 Amnesty Ordinance, and has recalled that in fighting impunity, there should be no amnesty for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of human rights. We thank the Ivorian delegation for the assurance that amnesty will not be applied to any perpetrators of serious HR violations. We would like to offer the following recommendations:
(1) to continue the ongoing efforts and adopt effective measures and policies to stop and prevent sexual violence against women and girls
(2) to thoroughly investigate all allegations of sexual violence and bring perpetrators of such crimes to justice, in accordance with international standards
Lastly, we are also concerned about the situation in Côte d’Ivoire when it comes to reports of abuse by the security forces, children’s rights, the right to information and freedom of the media, as well as the right to participate in public and political life.
Thank you, Mr President