A/HRC/33/36 victims and all citizens to denounce and combat sexual assault. In his speech on the state of the nation, on 14 December 2015, the President renewed his commitment to attain the “morally acceptable objective [of] zero rape” and emphasized the achievements of the military justice system in sentencing rapists, regardless of their rank or grade. The authorities 12 have also stressed the importance of creating a fund for compensation for victims, but little progress has been made in setting it up. 38. The legislative framework has been improved, including by the adoption, pursuant to article 14 of the Constitution, of Act No. 15/013 of 1 August 2015 on the implementation of women’s rights and equality, the objectives of which include protection against violence against women in public and private life. The High Commissioner welcomes the adoption of the Act of 31 December 2015 amending and supplementing the decree of 6 August 1959 on the Code of Criminal Procedure, in particular with regard to the rights and protection of the accused, victims, witnesses and intermediaries. 2. Action taken by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office 39. The Office has continued to support the work of NGOs to establish legal clinics in order to improve access to justice for victims. Twenty-three legal clinics have been set up in 13 provinces; they have provided free legal assistance to at least 921 victims of sexual violence, leading to 231 convictions. The Office has also provided legal assistance and/or appropriate protection to 72 victims of sexual violence perpetrated by members of the Congolese national police and/or FARDC. 40. Throughout the country, the Office has organized training on forensic expertise in cases of sexual violence for 132 physicians and on the treatment of such cases for 81 judicial police officers and 120 lawyers. With the support of the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict (hereinafter the Team of Experts), the Office has facilitated the deployment of 19 women magistrates in special cells for the punishment of crimes of sexual and gender-based violence within the district prosecution offices in the provinces of Ituri, North and South Kivu and Tanganyika. 41. The Office has also assisted the military courts, in collaboration with the Team of Experts, in developing protective measures for victims of sexual violence and for witnesses. On 1 and 2 December 2015, a high-level conference organized in Kinshasa by the Team of Experts in collaboration with the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office brought together international and national experts (including 50 representatives of the judicial, executive and legislative powers) to discuss a legal framework to better protect victims. E. Protection of civilians 42. The Human Rights Committee has urged the Government to take all necessary steps to strengthen its capacity to protect civilians in areas of armed conflict. 13 During the universal periodic review in 2014, the Government was also advised to take concrete steps to eliminate all negative forces operating in the eastern part of the country. 12 13 10 Including the Office of the Personal Representative of the President on sexual violence and the recruitment and use of children, two commissions of the Senate and experts from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. CCPR/C/COD/CO/3, para. 13. GE.16-13984