A/HRC/33/36 officers will be brought to trial. Furthermore, the lack of human and financial resources exposes the judiciary to the risk of money changing hands for certain acts and is not conducive to judicial independence. This institutional fragility opens the door to interference in the judiciary, often seen as a tool for muzzling political opposition, civil society and the media, particularly in the current electoral context, when violations of rights and fundamental freedoms are increasing. Such is the case for members of the abovementioned LUCHA movement, who have frequently been subjected to judicial proceedings since March 2015. 62. Weaknesses in the prison system constitute another major obstacle to combating impunity: mass escapes are frequent because of negligence and the corruption of guards and are facilitated by dilapidated infrastructure. During the reporting period, at least 1,044 individuals escaped from prisons throughout the country. 63. It is regrettable that, despite the enactment of laws on the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 20 the death penalty stills exists under domestic legislation, including for international crimes. Despite the fact that a moratorium has been observed since 2003, the death penalty continues to be imposed by civilian and military courts. 2. Action taken by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office 64. The Office has continued to assist the judicial authorities in the fight against impunity by providing technical and logistical support to investigators and judges deployed to areas where human rights violations have been committed and to which access is difficult. Support was provided by the Office for 13 joint investigation missions and to 22 itinerant courts in cases involving human rights violations, 12 of which concerned sexual violence. The proceedings resulted in 74 convictions. In the case concerning an attack on the village of Yalisika (Equateur) by members of FARDC and the Congolese national police, during which human rights violations were committed against the inhabitants, the Military Court of Equateur received logistical and technical support from the Office after receiving a complaint about theft by the logging company SIFORCO. From 5 June to 14 December 2015, the Office also provided assistance to victims and witnesses in Mbandaka. 65. From 15 to 16 March 2016, the Office and the International Center for Transitional Justice organized a conference on regional judicial cooperation in combating impunity for international crimes in the Great Lakes region. This event was attended by civilian and military judges as well as experts from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania. The conference was organized to examine the procedures that could be applied to requests for mutual legal assistance and extradition and to establish liaison among the national authorities involved in these procedures. III. Cooperation with United Nations human rights mechanisms and national mechanisms to promote and protect human rights A. Action to implement universal periodic review recommendations 66. With support from the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office and with the collaboration of civil society, the Government continued to carry out activities and to 20 14 The Democratic Republic of the Congo ratified the Rome Statute on 11 April 2002. GE.16-13984