to the State party, neither the failure to conduct an investigation, nor the alleged failure to correct the death certificate, nor the invoking of the violation of Thomas Sankara’s dignity, can justify applying the provisions of the Covenant in respect of him retroactively, since there is no continuity in the events over time, and to do so would run totally counter to the principles of public international law. The State party maintains the argument of prescription to justify the fact that no investigation has been held since the Covenant entered into force. Furthermore, in bringing the case before a court which was manifestly incompetent to consider it, the authors brought on prescription by their own actions, since referral to an incompetent court does not interrupt the statute of limitations. In that way, it was not incumbent on the State party to institute proceedings after the Covenant had entered into force. In the present case, since the author of the communication had not indicated any act attributable to the State party which had been committed subsequently or had continued after the entry into force of the Covenant, the Committee could not validly rule on the facts without ignoring its own jurisprudence and a well-established international rule. Regarding the author’s allegations that the last investigative action was taken on 29 September 1997, providing grounds for suspending the statute of limitations, the State party considers this to be a “pernicious interpretation” of article 7 of the Code of Criminal Procedure: the institution of proceedings is not an investigative act, because it is not brought before a competent court. 9.2 Concerning the allegations that the State party omitted or refused to correct Thomas Sankara’s death certificate, before and after acceding to the Optional Protocol, the State party explains that the death certificate is no more than an act of recording by an expert, and not a civil registration document. A document prepared by an expert can be rectified or corrected only by an expert, a role the State party could not play, and the responsibility of an expert is and remains an individual and personal responsibility. Hence the failure to correct the death certificate cannot bring into play the responsibility of the State party. 9.3 The State party maintains that the authors’ assertions regarding violation of the dignity of Thomas Sankara, allegedly constituting a continuing violation, are not substantiated and do not point to violations of the provisions of the Covenant. Sympathizers regularly visit Thomas Sankara’s grave to pay tribute, he himself has been officially rehabilitated and honoured as a national hero, a number of political parties which are still represented in the National Assembly bear his name, and a heroes’ monument is under construction in Ouagadougou, partly celebrating Thomas Sankara. 131 131 In addition, according to the State party, the protection of dignity under the Covenant guarantees only the rights of living persons, and not the dead. Consequently, the allegation that Thomas Sankara’s right to dignity has been violated is manifestly unfounded. 9.4 Concerning the alleged admissions of legal significance made by the State party in connection with Thomas Sankara’s status as a victim, the State party notes the flimsiness of these observations and considers that the Committee should reaffirm its initial position regarding the inadmissibility of this part of the complaint. 9.5 In the view of the State party, the authors’ observations demonstrate that the requirements for admissibility before the Committee have not all been met in this case, in relation to the Committee’s partial decision on admissibility. The State party requests the Committee to reconsider its admissibility decision. Not only have not all remedies been exhausted in relation to all their allegations, but in addition the allegations reflect an abuse of rights and abuse of process and are manifestly incompatible with the provisions of the Covenant. 9.6 The State party reaffirms that it has demonstrated the effectiveness of non-contentious remedies in the specific case of Burkina Faso, in the prevailing political and social context. The authors have not denied that these remedies are effective, and do not explain their steadfast refusal to make use of non-contentious remedies. The State party also reiterates that the authors have failed to use certain contentious remedies. It refers to its observations on admissibility, and in particular to article 123 of the Personal and Family Code, under which they could secure correction of the death certificate. Lastly, the State party maintains that Ms. Sankara, through negligence or ignorance, committed procedural errors which prevented consideration of the substance of her complaint, and it refers to its observations on admissibility. 9.7 In relation to abuse of process, the State party maintains that the complaints raised by the authors are more political than legal in nature, and are in fact directed at the country’s President. 9.8 The State party puts forward the following arguments as to the merits. Regarding the alleged violation of article 2, the State party considers that these violations cannot have occurred in the present case, but if the Committee were to acknowledge such an obligation, the State party is prepared to present relevant arguments. Concerning the alleged violation of article 7, the State party holds that any accusation of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment cannot be validly upheld in fact or in law,