A/HRC/28/83 91. The Independent Expert remains concerned about the adverse effects of explosive remnants of war on children. On 5 August 2014, in the village of Daki, the fingers of a 12year-old boy from the Fulani community were blown off by the blast of an explosive device. Six other children were injured by explosive devices following confrontations in Tabankort. E. The prison situation 92. During the reporting period, the Human Rights Division of MINUSMA recorded 92 conflict-related arrests made by government forces (soldiers and gendarmes), including 4 arrests involving persons who identified themselves as minors. 93. The de facto jurisdiction of the courts in Gao, Timbuktu and Mopti over conflictrelated cases has been confirmed, as the Human Rights Division of MINUSMA recorded 90 arrests there (30 in Gao, 35 in Timbuktu and 25 in Mopti), and only 35 cases have been transferred to Bamako. However, no judgement of the Supreme Court was rendered to reverse the precedents transferring the cases from the aforementioned courts to the Court of First Instance of Commune III of Bamako. This thus raises the question of whether the arrests were legal. 94. After a lull in the number of arrests between June and September 2014 (fewer than 10 per month), a sharp increase in number was recorded in October (18) and especially in November (52), largely owing to the arbitrary arrest of groups of persons to carry out identity checks (24 recorded cases). Of the 92 persons arrested during the reporting period, 72 have been released and 20 are still in detention. 95. In addition, from 1 May to 3 December 2014, the Human Rights Division of MINUSMA recorded the release from custody of 196 prisoners: 82 concerned persons connected with an armed group or armed groups who were released under article 18 of the Ouagadougou Preliminary Agreement (mainly in June and July), while the releases ordered between October and December concerned persons arrested for the purpose of identity checks or on unfounded allegations. 96. The Human Rights Division of MINUSMA has recorded 174 conflict-related detainees, including 5 persons purported to be minors at the time of their arrest. The detainees include 88 persons in pretrial detention under a committal order, 7 convicted persons and 79 persons detained without a warrant. Thirty-four persons whose release has been requested by one or several armed groups are still in detention. 97. The Minister of Justice and Human Rights has affirmed the Government’s desire to devote special attention to improving prison conditions in Mali, which are run-down and pose health and safety problems. The prisons were built during the colonial era and no improvements have been made since. Staff is insufficient and poorly trained. F. Refugees and internally displaced persons 98. The Independent Expert had a productive meeting with the members of the Mali Protection Cluster, who highlighted the various challenges to the work of humanitarian actors, particularly the dwindling humanitarian space which is due to the deteriorating security situation and restricted access to communities in the north. 99. According to data collected by the Mali Protection Cluster, 2.5 million vulnerable people have been affected by the crisis in northern Mali and are in urgent need of protection, including 126,249 internally displaced persons, more than 200,000 returning refugees, 140,768 Malian refugees, and 32,425 spontaneous returnees and host 16 GE.15-00252