A/HRC/10/59 page 16 54. In addition, child protection actors indicate that there has been an explosion of child recruitment by non-state armed groups in recent months. On the basis of documented cases of children released in the past year, Mayi Mayi groups account for the highest number of children in their ranks, followed by CNDP. Although FARDC have received orders on 12 May 2005 not to recruit children and reportedly have stopped doing so, documented cases show that children are still present, especially in the non-integrated brigades as a result of the mixage process in early 2007.25 Reports indicate that parents in conflict areas often prevent their children from going to school (where schools function again), because they fear that armed groups will forcibly recruit their children. 55. The regional and cross-border dimensions of the conflict also carry significant implications for children. This includes attacks by groups such as LRA, the recruitment of children from neighbouring countries, and the issue of repatriating children demobilized from fighting groups in the DRC to their countries of origin. 56. On 10 January 2009, the President of the Republic signed the Law on the Protection of the Child, which among other things reaffirms that the recruitment of children for use in armed conflict is prohibited and constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour. C. Root causes of human rights concerns 57. The unresolved conflicts with their multitude of actors, resulting in the repeated resumption of hostilities and violence, and the absence of a process leading to sustainable peace are the main causes of human rights violations in the east of the country. There, as well as in the rest of the DRC, state institutions necessary to protect and fulfil the human rights of the population too often lack the capacity to do so or, as in most rural areas, are totally absent. Many governmental actors feel no real commitment to address the human rights challenges affecting the country and act accordingly, or are unaware that human rights violations may not only result from acts but also omissions, including an unwillingness to investigate, prosecute and punish, to protect the civilian population in zones of armed conflict, or to provide basic goods and services necessary for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. 58. On a more immediate level, the seven thematic special procedures have identified several causes of the identified human rights violations, some of which have already been highlighted by the Council in resolution S-8/1. 1. Impunity and the state of the justice and penitentiary systems 59. The Council in resolution S-8/1 rightfully emphasized the importance of bringing all perpetrators to justice since the problem of impunity in the country, in particular in light of the serious human rights violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law in the eastern part, is one of the root causes for the continuing deterioration of the situation. Another dimension of impunity has been a reported growth in lynching and other illegal acts of vigilante justice, which further undermines the rule of law. 25 Ibid., para. 21.