A/HRC/13/65 page 17 65. From the independent expert’s meeting with representatives of Puntland civil society, he learnt about the gaps that existed with regard to human rights, rule of law and access to justice. He was pleased to learn that, with UNDP funds provided under a project, a team of 15 lawyers and 16 paralegals have been employed to improve access to justice for vulnerable groups, particularly through monitoring human rights violations committed against minorities, IDPs, economic migrants and refugees. One representative raised a concern about the limited capacity of the judiciary when the region was witnessing increased criminality generated by the influx of mixed migrants and related human trafficking. 66. Only a limited number of judges are trained to apply the criminal law inherited from Italy. Murder cases are more often than not dealt with under sharia law. The same judge could decide to apply both the Italian-inherited criminal law and sharia law in a case. While the majority of the population appears to be in favour of the application of sharia law, the issue of harmonization of the various Somali laws appears not to be a priority. Minorities who lack the protection of the major clans are likely to be victims of the discrepancies between customary, criminal and sharia law. 67. From his visit to an IDP camp in Bossaso, the independent expert learnt that, while the living conditions in the camp, like those of the local population in the vicinity, remain harsh, the relative stability of Puntland provides the IDPs with opportunities to improve their social and economic conditions. For the women and children in the camp (who are in the majority), the lack of physical security, rape and other instances of sexual and gender-based violence in and around the settlements and domestic violence are reported to be common. Access to primary education for internally displaced children and health care at the General Hospital of Bossasso remain limited. Despite this, however, many IDPs said they preferred the durable solution of local reintegration to risking travelling to Yemen or returning to the south of the country. VI. HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN SOMALILAND 68. During his visit to Somaliland, the independent expert had the opportunity to meet with the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Interior, the Speaker of the House of Elders, members of civil society organizations and the President of the Somaliland Human Rights Commission. He also visited the Mandhera prison outside Hargeisa and interacted with students of Hargeisa University. These exchanges, in addition to briefings from United Nations agencies, provided a good insight into the human rights situation in Somaliland. A. Access to justice and rule of law 69. The independent expert expresses his gratitude to the Minister of Justice for his frankness in discussing the human rights of IDPs, refugees and asylum-seekers and some discrepancies relating to rule of law and access to justice. The Minister sought to underline the Government’s efforts to improve access to justice. He stated that there were now some 100 judges employed across Somaliland. The judges resort to a combination of civil, customary and sharia law, but only a small number of judges have appropriate legal qualifications in these fields. 70. The expert raised with the Minister concerns that he had heard that the courts at all levels in Somaliland failed to challenge arbitrary and illegal detention of journalists, human rights defenders and “undisciplined” juveniles. The Constitution of Somaliland requires that