A/HRC/19/48 Action taken by UNJHRO 13. During the period under review, UNJHRO continued to organize frequent visits to detention facilities all over the country, in collaboration with the Congolese authorities and other partners, although it was denied access to some detention facilities, as mentioned in paragraph 11 above. UNJHRO continued to conduct prison visits and monitor individual cases of detainees. In cooperation with the corrections unit of MONUSCO, UNJHRO advised prison directors on human rights-related issues. Also in collaboration with this unit and with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), UNJHRO is rehabilitating Kangbayi prison in Beni, North Kivu, and the central prison in Kalehe, South Kivu. Obstacles to the implementation of existing recommendations 14. As few significant measures have been taken since the High Commissioner’s last report, there is little improvement in the situation. 10 The penitentiary system is poorly funded and corruption networks have taken root. These networks are resisting reform initiatives that might render their activities less profitable or tend to capitalize on them. Although the law penalizing torture has been adopted, its consistent application remains a significant challenge, given the lack of capacity and the need to train penitentiary, judicial and security personnel. C. Sexual violence Existing recommendations 15. The Democratic Republic of the Congo should abolish all provisions of national law that discriminate against women. State institutions should denounce publicly and unequivocally all forms of violence against women, including marital violence and rape. Custom, traditions or religious considerations must not be invoked to temper these denunciations. The Government should establish and promote an effective mechanism to receive complaints of sexual violence, including at custodial facilities. The High Commissioner, among others, has called on the Government to provide victims with psychological and medical care. Furthermore, the Government has to ensure that members of the State security forces know and comply with the laws on sexual violence and that perpetrators are brought to justice without delay. Finally, the State should pay damages to all victims of sexual violence committed by State agents and create a fund for this purpose in the national budget.11 Action taken by the Government and current situation 16. The number of victims registered by UNJHRO remained high over the course of 2011. The High Commissioner is particularly preoccupied by the high incidence of rape of minors and by several grave cases of mass rapes committed by FARDC soldiers and various armed groups. For instance, between the end of April and the beginning of May 2011, UNJHRO conducted, with judicial authorities, several missions to camps of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Katanga province. During these missions, UNJHRO documented allegations of rape, including gang-rape, of at least 102 women and one girl by combatants of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) between November 2010 and January 2011. In July 2011, UNJHRO published two reports on mass 10 11 8 A/HRC/13/64 para. 15 and A/HRC/16/27 para. 20. See footnote 3.