A/HRC/33/36 2. Action taken by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office 24. The Office has continued its advocacy of inquiries into all human rights violations, particularly the cases of extrajudicial killings submitted monthly to the authorities concerned, so that the alleged perpetrators can be prosecuted and brought to trial. However, there has been no movement on several cases, including some involving the prosecution of police officers and members of the Republican Guard who, during the demonstrations in Kinshasa and Goma in January 2015, shot and killed at least 20 people. C. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment 25. The Committee against Torture invited the Government to take effective measures to prevent any acts of torture throughout the country and called for steps to be taken to eliminate impunity for alleged acts of torture. 9 The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommended that the Government should establish, pursuant to article 3 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, an independent national mechanism for the prevention of torture that would be empowered to visit all places of detention. The Special Rapporteur on torture regretted the lack of response from the Government to the communications submitted to it and recalled that prolonged incommunicado detention may facilitate the perpetration of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and can in itself constitute a form of such treatment.10 1. Current situation and action taken by the Government 26. During the reporting period, the Office identified 822 cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment affecting 1,473 victims throughout the country; 57 per cent of the violations were committed by State agents and 43 per cent by armed groups. 27. Some victims were abducted by members of the security forces, including the National Intelligence Agency, and then held incommunicado; they were intimidated, beaten and deprived of food or sleep to force them to confess or to sign incriminating documents. Such was the case of Fred Bauma and Christopher Ngoy Mutamba, mentioned previously. 28. Members of armed groups have also subjected civilians to mutilation and cruel treatment during attacks on villages. For example, in Vututu (Irumu territory, Ituri province), during the night of 24 to 25 October 2015, a group of around 40 combatants of the Forces de résistance patriotique d’Ituri attacked two miners on whom they inflicted injuries to make them disclose the spot where they had hidden their gold. 29. The military courts have handed down convictions for cases of torture committed by members of the defence and security forces. For example, on 3 June 2016, the Uvira garrison military court found a FARDC commander guilty of torture, sentencing him to two years’ imprisonment together with the payment of a fine, damages to the victim and court costs. 2. Action taken by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office 30. The Office has continued to monitor and report to the authorities cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that have been documented throughout the country, particularly in places of detention. The practice by the intelligence 9 10 8 CAT/C/DRC/CO/1, para. 6 (a) and (b). A/HRC/31/57/Add.1, para. 105. GE.16-13984