Benin report - Institut Africain de la Gouvernance

CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE__________________________________________________________________________submission of the National Human Rights Consultative Council reports isworrying to say the least. The report on the implementation of the OptionalProtocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, whichshould have been submitted in 1993, was only submitted in 2004. The samegoes for the report on the implementation of CEDAW. It was due inNovember 2005 but was never submitted. The report on the Convention on theRights of the Child, due in January 2002, suffered a similar fate.iii.Recommendations of the APR Panel114. The APR Panel recommends that:Government should:ratify all pending international instruments, including the African UnionConvention on Preventing and Combating Corruption;issue the implementing decrees for all pending international legalinstruments, especially those on child protection and the promotion andprotection of women;take all the necessary legislative and regulatory measures to ensure thatnational laws are consistent with the international standards and codes thatBenin has ratified, and inform the public about these laws; andensure the timely submission of reports on the implementation ofinternational instruments to organs of the UN.115. The National Assembly should accelerate the vote on the authorisations for theratification of instruments submitted to it, while remaining vigilant aboutgovernment‟s commitments in terms of international agreements.116. The National Human Rights Consultative Council and civil societyorganisations should carry out informative campaigns about the instrumentsratified, and should conduct civic education to facilitate the implementation ofinstruments that protect the rights of citizens.3.3 Assessment of APR objectivesObjective 1:Prevent and reduce intrastate and interstate conflicti. Summary of the CSAR117. The CSAR notes common ground in terms of information gleaned from allsources (literature, focus groups, surveys, national consultations and validation69