A/HRC/12/43 page 14 C. Sexual and gender-based violence 52. One of the most endemic human rights violations in Burundi is sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Reporting SGBV is difficult in the conditions that prevail in Burundi, where perpetrators are often civilians from a shared social unit, whether the family, school, or community. Reports are common of raped women being pressured by their families to accept out-of-court settlements that range from payments to the family to marriage to the rapist. Nevertheless, the figures are revealing: the Seruka Centre, a leading non-governmental organization that provides free services to SGVB victims, reported receiving nearly 1,600 victims in 2008. Better protection should now be afforded under the new Criminal Code, which contains a clearer definition of rape and criminalizes harassment. 53. BINUB has led a process of mapping out all SGBV-related interventions undertaken by the United Nations and its agencies in Burundi and of establishing an integrated strategy on this basis. Under a joint programme, BINUB and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) have organized a variety of seminars and workshops on Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security. In partnership with a local NGO, BINUB delivered a training of trainers programme aimed at strengthening capacity for tackling SGBV and establishing a network of women occupying elected positions at the community level. Another project envisaged for the immediate future foresees the setting up of pilot care centres that will bring a range of services - legal, medical, social and psychosocial - to victims in a coordinated fashion. D. The Batwa 54. Comprising 1 per cent of the population, the Batwa people have been little able to influence national debates about the issues that affect them. While there is no national statistical base for tracking changes in their socio-economic status, the available information suggests that the Batwa experience even more acutely the daunting challenges experienced by Burundians generally. Other challenges faced by the Batwa people include inadequate access to land,14 weak school attendance rates, inadequate housing, non-registration of marriages and births, alleged bias in judicial procedures and lack of revenue-generating activities and thus of opportunities for economic advancement. These challenges are compounded by the fact that many members of the Batwa community do not seem to appreciate the importance of having national identity cards and therefore commonly do not take the initiative to obtain them. VIII. INCHOATE HUMAN RIGHTS INITIATIVES A. An independent national human rights commission 55. In December 2006, the President of Burundi committed himself to establishing an independent national human rights commission. A project was launched in 2006 through the PBF, and is currently under the direction of the Ministry of Human Rights and Gender, to support the Government to undertake this initiative with the technical and substantive support of 14 UNIPROBA, “Rapport sur la situation foncière des Batwa du Burundi”, August 2008.