ethnicity, gender, age of the victim, etc. Refusal to pay the diya results in reprisals against the perpetrator or, failing that, against his family or community. The diya therefore constitutes a violation of the principle of the individual nature of criminal penalties. Although it contravenes Articles 25 (individual nature of penalties) and 26 (prohibition of customary and traditional rules relating to collective criminal responsibility) of the Constitution, and is not provided for in any national legislation, diya remains an accepted practice in Chad, especially among groups which mainly practise Muslim law. 376. Admittedly, the diya has the advantage of settling, in an amicable manner, individual and community disputes of a criminal nature, through the payment of a lump to the beneficiaries of victims of murder or manslaughter. It is widely established that the diya also addresses the civil aspect of crimes. However, the Office of the Public Prosecutor always prosecutes criminals even if families withdraw their complaint after being paid Diya. 377. In addition, “intercommunity agreements” recognized by the Ministry of the Interior exist and also allow for the amicable settlement of murder cases between members of different communities in Chad. b) Poverty-related barriers 378. The poor allocation of public resources, which contributes to poverty, is one of the main causes of human rights violations and reasons for an unfavourable good governance environment in Chad. While first generation rights have been more or less effectively enforced, the same cannot be said of second and third generation rights. These include the right to decent housing, the right to education, the right to gainful employment, the right to a healthy environment, etc. Despite significant efforts by the Government to combat poverty using financial resources from oil exploitation since 2003, the poverty situation has not improved significantly in Chad (Chad ranked 185th out of 187 in 2015, according to the UNDP HDI). c) Barriers relating to political factors 379. At the political level, Chad has experienced three decades of civil war under an authoritarian regime; it has experienced sporadic armed conflicts between government forces and rebel groups. Millions of Chadians were born and raised during this period of war. Armed conflict has conditioned the reflexes of most of them to the extent that violence has gradually become a preferred means of conflict resolution. This culture of violence often leads to abuses by armed men with negative consequences on human rights and national cohesion. d) Fortunately, from 2010 to date, Chad has been experiencing relative stability and peace in a sub-region faced with all types of unrest, including terrorist attacks by the Islamist sect Boko Haram. Page 81 sur 87