A/HRC/25/72 of a large part of the north, the Malian State has not yet been able to recover control over the entire territory. 23. It is still difficult for government authorities to travel to the region of Kidal on official visit. In mid-September 2013, the convoy of a delegation of members of the Government of Mali was attacked by stone-throwing demonstrators – MNLA sympathizers demanding independence for Azawad. On 28 November, an airplane transporting the Prime Minister was unable to land in Kidal because of demonstrators at the airport protesting his visit in the region. 24. In the north, the consequence of the occupation has been the systematic destruction of all State presence. State functions such as the territorial administration, security, justice, education and health care were particularly hard hit, since they were strategic targets for jihadi groups seeking to replace the judicial order by the sharia. Many public service buildings and infrastructures were destroyed. The civil servants and State officials assigned to the north fled to Bamako. 25. The independent expert noted that the Malian authorities were gradually reintroducing institutions in the north for security and public order, justice, public health and education, notwithstanding problems encountered in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of administrative infrastructure and other public service buildings destroyed during the occupation. The authorities were planning to reinforce the presence of police and gendarmerie stations in the north. One of the main focal points is the establishment of a fully operational prison system based on new integrated units designed to provide support for the judicial system and the security sector. 26. The authorities have also introduced incentives to encourage civil servants to return to their posts in the north. However, those who have been able to do so encounter many obstacles on the ground which impede the resumption of State services, such as the lack of basic computer infrastructures and equipment or functioning offices. The authorities also aim to ensure public order and security by opening police stations and prisons. D. 1. The challenge of the fight against impunity Judicial mechanisms 27. The Transition Government has had mixed results and an ambivalent attitude towards combating impunity. On the one hand, it has filed an application with the International Criminal Court to bring to justice suspected perpetrators of international crimes committed in the north. On the other hand, a Council of Ministers decision of 14 August 2013 went in the opposite direction by exceptionally promoting Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo to the rank of lieutenant general, despite a number of reports of his involvement in human rights violations since the coup of 22 March 2012. 28. Moreover, the Ouagadougou Preliminary Agreement provides that the parties undertake to adopt appropriate confidence-building measures to facilitate the implementation of the Agreement, and to release the persons detained in connection with the armed conflict. On 29 October, the Government released 11 members of armed groups detained in connection with the events in the north, and it annulled arrest warrants issued against a number of Tuareg rebel chiefs, including 4 former members of parliament affiliated with MNLA and HCUA. 29. The independent expert noted with concern that such a measure opens the door to granting impunity and constituted a de facto amnesty for acts committed by armed groups in northern Mali that might potentially be considered international crimes. GE.14-10118 7