A/HRC/12/9 Page 4 8. The Supreme Court has trained some 800 judges on fair trial and more then 750 modern and Sharia law graduates have been employed in the justice sector. Lack of security remains the main challenge for courts and judges. The Ministry of Justice has established the Bar Association and registered 102 political parties and 1,348 social organizations. However, despite these efforts some problems remain, including the failure to meet human rights standards inside the prisons. The Attorney-General’s Office faces problems due to lack of availability of lawyers especially in the provinces, lack of security for prosecutors, shortage of technical equipment during investigation, interference of powerful people and low salary levels for prosecutors. The Ministry of the Interior has made efforts in training the Afghan National Police to protect human rights in discharging its duties. Nevertheless, a number of complaints show that further work is needed in this area. 9. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) with support from the Government has been able to monitor prisons and detention centres without prior notice. In agreement with a number of international military forces it has also able to monitor the situation of Afghans detained accused of having links with terrorists. A number of additional, specialized commissions have been established recently to ensure security of human rights, including the anti-corruption and civil administration reform commission, commission to address capital punishment cases, board for addressing complaints of prisoners transferred from Bagram airbase and Guantanamo prison, board for addressing the situation of prisoners in Kabul’s main prisons and detention centres, and commission for elimination of violence against women. 10. Civil society plays an important role in conducting research on different human rights issues. 11. The delegation mentioned some of the most important national policies and strategies adopted to systematically support human rights, including the Afghan National Development Strategy approved by the President on 21 April 2008. 12. The Transitional Justice Strategy and Action Plan on Peace, Justice and Reconciliation was adopted in 2005. With regard to implementation of transitional justice, judicial actions were not taken due to lack of suitable conditions, for example, insecurity, lack of required capacity in the Government and the influence of powerful violators of human rights. 13. The delegation provided further information regarding measures for social protection. The Government was providing shelter to 9,312 orphan children in 54 orphanages, a total of 362 kindergartens were fully functional throughout the country. Concerning the right to food and to an adequate standard of living and shelter, in 2005, 44 per cent of Afghans lived under the poverty line, and 75 per cent did not have food security. The Ministry of Agriculture has developed a special food security programme in May 2008. Additionally, the rapid growth of urban dwellings, the return of new groups of refugees and internally displaced people, the expansion of poverty and slums in the cities put the Government in a difficult situation when considering citizen’s right to shelter. 14. Achievements in the last seven years on the right to health included a reduction in mortality rate of children under five. Health service coverage increased to 85 per cent of the population through 1,688 functioning medical facilities. Yet, malnutrition remained one of the most challenging public health issues.