A/HRC/39/71 and support of UNAMID and humanitarian agencies for their security, well-being and humanitarian needs. While such services are limited due to security and other challenges, they nonetheless offer critical lifelines for displaced communities. Internally displaced persons regularly express concern over the occupation of their villages and farmlands by armed militias, which has had a negative impact on their right to food security and prospects for return. In some instances, violence, including killings, sexual violence and abduction, was reported to have prompted the forcible eviction of internally displaced persons from the lands to which they had returned. Root causes of the conflict, including discrimination and access to land and livelihoods, remain a major challenge for the longterm stability of Darfur. Sexual and gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence 50. The vulnerabilities of women, girls and boys to sexual violence, including conflictrelated sexual violence, remain a major concern. According to information received, from April 2017 to April 2018, UNAMID documented 111 cases involving 148 victims of sexual violence. The cases included rape, attempted rape, gang rape and killing of the victims in some instances. Displaced women and girls from internally displaced person camps remained the most vulnerable to, and were most often the victims of, conflict-related sexual violence, which primarily occurred around the camps for the displaced, villages of return and other remote areas while victims were engaged in livelihood activities. There was a spike in sexual violence during the farming season due to transhumance activities. The perpetrators were identified by the victims as armed men, militia members in civilian clothes and members of State security forces such as the Sudan Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces, border guards and police. 51. Addressing conflict-related sexual violence and assisting victims are critical and require a multisectoral approach involving various stakeholders, both national and international. Government leadership and political will, welded to inclusive participation by national stakeholders ensured by State structures, adequate resources and effective partnerships with the United Nations and other international partners, will strengthen the fight against sexual violence. Justice for victims of sexual violence is also critical for sustainable peace in Darfur; provision of remedies and compensation to the victims and survivors form part of the recovery process and the delivery of justice. 52. The Independent Expert has received assurances from the Acting Chief Justice for Darfur and the Special Prosecutor for crimes committed in Darfur that steps are being taken to address the issue of impunity. Rule of law and judicial institutions 53. The Government of the Sudan has taken steps to strengthen judicial institutions through the deployment of judges and prosecutors as a means of enhancing robust protection mechanisms for civilians. While the initiative is welcome, victims of human rights abuses continue to complain about difficulties in accessing core elements of the justice chain. In particular, law enforcement authorities have been criticized for a seeming lack of willingness to initiate investigations and apprehend alleged perpetrators. The existence of restrictive laws and the slow pace of legislative reform continue to have a negative impact on the promotion and protection of human rights. 54. While article 27 (3) of the Interim National Constitution states that all international human rights treaties ratified by the Sudan form integral parts of the Bill of Rights, other institutional authorities operate under powers which are inconsistent with the spirit of international human rights law. Among these are the extensive powers accorded to the National Intelligence and Security Service, Military Intelligence and the Sudan Armed Forces. Further, the 2013 amendment to the Armed Forces Act (2007) extends the jurisdiction of the Sudan Armed Forces Military Court to trials of civilians, with the power to impose the death penalty. It is imperative that a comprehensive legislative reform agenda be incorporated into strategies for the protection of civilians, especially in the context of conflict and post-conflict situations. 9