A/HRC/39/42 committed by State officials. The majority of these (21 per cent of the total number of victims) were attributable to FARDC soldiers. Among the armed groups, Raia Mutomboki combatants and those of the Forces de résistance patriotique de l’Ituri, and members of the Twa and Bana Mura militias are the principal culprits. 56. North Kivu, South Kivu, Tanganyika, the three Kasaï provinces and Ituri remain the provinces where sexual violence is most rampant. The Joint Human Rights Office has documented a worrying number of acts of sexual violence perpetrated by combatants of the Alliance des patriotes pour un Congo libre et souverain (APCLS) since early 2018 in North Kivu. For example, on 3 February 2018, in Lwibo, Bikunje and Muroba (Masisi territory), at least 17 women were raped by APCLS combatants of the Mapenzi faction during attacks against these locations, which had been placed under the control of APCLS combatants of General Janvier Karairi’s faction. 57. In his last annual report on conflict-related sexual violence (S/2018/250), submitted on 18 April 2018 to the Security Council, the Secretary-General noted the increase in such violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and highlighted the resurgence of ethnically motivated sexual violence observed in Tanganyika province and in the Kasaï provinces, along with the significant number of cases attributable to members of FARDC and the Congolese national police. 58. The Joint Human Rights Office has continued to document acts of sexual violence outside the conflict areas. The principal victims of these are children (41 children and 6 women), and their main perpetrators are Congolese national police officers, in particular in the provinces of Kongo Central (37 per cent) and Kinshasa (33 per cent). 2. Action taken by the Joint Human Rights Office 59. The Joint Human Rights Office has continued its efforts to facilitate access for victims of sexual violence to holistic care. It supported eight legal clinics in North Kivu and South Kivu, which provided free legal assistance to 1,064 victims. Among the cases handled, 199 were referred to the courts, resulting in 87 convictions. In the same provinces, the Joint Human Rights Office also facilitated access to justice by 1,953 victims through the provision of support to the special units of the public prosecutor’s offices for action against sexual violence, which resulted in 692 judgments, including 495 convictions. 60. Throughout the country, the Joint Human Rights Office has organized training sessions in preventing and combating impunity for sexual violence. At least 25 doctors and 36 judicial officials have been trained in forensic skills and the judicial procedure for handling cases of this kind, and awareness-raising measures conducted for at least 100 students and 12 teachers on sexual and gender-based violence and the theme of positive masculinity. The Joint Human Rights Office has also conducted a series of training courses for 115 commanders, military judges, intelligence officers and legal advisers of the FARDC operational sector in Kasaï. 61. In addition, the Office has supported the judiciary in establishing measures for the protection of victims and witnesses of sexual violence. As a result, during 17 mobile court hearings, 97 women and 26 girls were provided with protective measures. D. Efforts to combat impunity 62. The Human Rights Committee requested the Democratic Republic of the Congo to take all necessary measures to end impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations and to ensure that the families of victims had access to effective remedies and reparation. It also called upon the Government to continue its cooperation with the International Criminal Court and to reform the legislative framework to ensure that military courts did not try civilians and that only the ordinary courts were competent to hear cases involving serious human rights violations (see CCPR/C/COD/CO/4, paras. 12 and 38). 10 GE.18-13336