A/HRC/33/64 electoral college. Led by the United Nations, the international community is supporting this process. 33. The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and other United Nations agencies working in Somalia have developed a project for the empowerment of women focusing on peace and security. The project will facilitate the participation of women in public affairs, in access to justice and rule of law programmes. Owing to the little time remaining before the elections, implementation of concrete actions is difficult. The Independent Expert is working with UN-Women and UNSOM to improve compliance of traditional elders with standards when adjudicating cases related to violence against women. Following consultations between the new Government and other stakeholders, a national conference on this issue has been proposed for 2017. A conference of this type would provide an opportunity to develop home-grown solutions to improve the access of women to justice under the traditional justice system. 34. In the view of the Minister for Justice, the large number of reported cases of violence against women had been exaggerated by civil society, and pointed out to the Independent Expert that most of the cases had been reported in areas occupied by AlShabaab, to which the Government has no access. The Minister added that, in any case, most of the reports had been received. He stated that the Ministry had established mobile courts to ensure access to justice for victims. The Independent Expert was also informed that the Government was currently integrating the formal justice system with the traditional and religious systems. 35. The Attorney General informed the Independent Expert that human rights were part of Islamic tradition, and urged that support be given to the Ministry for Women and Human Rights Development and the Ministry of the Interior to ensure implementation of the human rights road map and other human rights-related programmes. Improved access to justice depended largely on the security situation, which the Government had prioritized. During the meeting with the Independent Expert, the Attorney General highlighted the key challenges to advancing the rights of women: ensuring the representation of women during the electoral process; the participation of women in the traditional justice system; and the recruitment of women prosecutors. 36. The Independent Expert was informed that the Ministry of Justice was working closely with rule of law institutions. The Government is rolling out a pilot project in 16 districts to assess the strengths and weaknesses in the traditional justice system and the role of traditional elders, including women elders. Traditional elders were already conceding the adjudication of rape cases to the police (see also para. 66 below). The number of female police officers actually handling cases involving violence against women is, however, still small. C. Violence against women 37. Violence against women continues in Somalia, and has been exacerbated by the conflict. In 2015, an information management system found that trends in sexual genderbased violence continued to be a critical protection concern. Reports revealed that 94 per cent of the survivors of sexual or gender-based violence were female. Some 74 per cent of survivors are internally displaced persons, a figure confirming their extreme vulnerability and need for additional protection. Women and girls from minority clans are especially vulnerable. Victims are exposed to assault, rape, sexual violence, female genital mutilation/cutting and forced marriages. One contributing factor is the lack of awareness of many women, particularly those living in rural areas, of their rights. 9