A/HRC/33/39 14. In 2015, the economy grew by 7 per cent, and is projected to continue at approximately the same rate in 2016. With GDP per capita currently at $1,138, Cambodia is expected to cross the threshold to lower-middle income status in 2016. Progress has, however, been uneven. The World Bank has estimated that, on the basis of the official poverty threshold, although the poverty rate had fallen to below 18 per cent of the population in 2012 (90 per cent of the poor being in rural areas), many Cambodians remained highly vulnerable to minor shocks; the loss of only 30 cents per person per day would more than double the poverty rate. According to a presentation made during World Bank Group in-country consultations for Cambodia on 29 June 2015, overall, the poor and near poor are estimated to account for 72 per cent of the population. 15. In 2016, the Government commenced its mid-term review of the National Strategic Development Plan for the period 2014-2018, which provides an opportunity to align national policies with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development2 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The Government has embraced the 2030 Agenda, pledged to add an eighteenth Goal, on mine action, and begun a consultative process of localization. 16. Certain public administration reforms relating to civil service, decentralization and deconcentration, and public finance management, have made progress. Salaries for civil servants are now paid by bank transfer instead of in cash, which will help to combat corruption. Corruption in general, however, remains widespread,; according to Transparency International, Cambodians perceive the judiciary as the most corrupt of all State institutions; the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association made a similar finding in a report released in September 2015.3 17. The lack of independence of the judiciary remains an obstacle to the protection of human rights. The Government of Cambodia has been pursuing reforms in court administration, which OHCHR is supporting, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, by providing members of the legal profession with concrete tools to assist judges in taking decisions on pretrial detention, and improving case management. One significant achievement has been the further reduction in cases awaiting appeal for an excessively lengthy period of time. 18. OHCHR continued to build the capacity of national counterparts. It reached out to subnational authorities on indigenous rights, prison officials on a rights-based approach to prison management, and government and private sector actors on business and human rights. Progress was made in the effective implementation of human rights training for law professionals as part of compulsory general training programmes for lawyers or mandatory refresher sessions on professional ethics for judges and prosecutors. OHCHR extended its outreach to the general public by means of new communication tools and media. Its work in Cambodia has been informed by the conclusions and recommendations of United Nations treaty bodies, the special procedures, the universal periodic review on Cambodia in January 2014 (see A/HRC/26/16), and the new global commitments under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 2 3 4 General Assembly resolution 70/1. Transparency International Cambodia, Corruption and Cambodia’s Governance System: The Need for Reform, National Integrity System Assessment 2014; International Bar Association, Human Rights Institute, “Justice versus Corruption: Challenges to the Independence of the Judiciary in Cambodia”, September 2015.