A/HRC/30/60 41. Occupation of lands by armed groups, insecurity and absence of basic infrastructure were some of the key reasons mentioned by displaced persons preventing them from returning to their homeland. Most of these persons, however, expressed their willingness to return if the security situation were to improve. The Independent Expert urges the Government of the Sudan to create the necessary conditions for the return of internally displaced persons to their places of origin and the international community to support this process. 42. The Independent Expert strongly urges all parties to the conflict to respect international human rights and international humanitarian law and to ensure humanitarian access at all times and to protect civilians. (b) Sexual and gender-based violence 43. The Independent Expert is particularly concerned about the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence throughout Darfur. This violence against women and girls includes acts of rape and sodomy, gang rape, attempted rape and harmful traditional practices, as well as domestic violence. From January to April 2015, UNAMID documented 27 incidents involving 39 victims of sexual and gender-based violence. UNAMID, through its follow-up with local sources, also established that cases of sexual violence were largely underreported. Most victims of sexual violence are displaced women and girls attacked while engaged in livelihood activities outside their camp. In some cases, victims are attacked while in the supposed safety of their shelters inside the camp or while fleeing for safety during attacks on their villages. The pattern that has emerged from these attacks suggests that, in most cases, perpetrators cannot be identified; in other cases, attacks were allegedly perpetrated by government security forces, signatory and non-signatory armed factions and sometimes by individuals not part of any organized group or government entity. 44. The general failure and sometimes reluctance of law enforcement officials to register or investigate sexual violence offences appropriately continues to impede victims’ access to justice. In some cases of sexual and gender-based violence, victims cite their lack of trust in the local authorities to take appropriate action as the reason for not reporting attacks. Although some cases reported to the local authorities have led to a prosecution, the vast majority of perpetrators go unpunished, while others seek an out-of-court settlement. In addition, the requirement that victims of sexual and gender-based violence fill in “form 8” – a document used by the police to obtain a forensic opinion regarding a crime from an authorized government expert – continues to pose a challenge to victims in their access to justice, despite the fact that, in 2004, the Federal Ministry of Justice issued a circular that exempted victims of sexual and gender-based violence from this procedure. A decade later, some victims of sexual and gender-based violence are still required to complete form 8 before they can have any access to medical assistance or criminal justice services. 45. The difficulties encountered by UNAMID in gaining access to information, sites and victims of alleged human rights violations and abuses continued to impede the reporting of cases of sexual and gender-based violence. The Independent Expert nonetheless noted that some steps were being taken by the Government of the Sudan to respond to violence against women, including the legal reform of the controversial article 149 of the Sudanese Criminal Code (see para. 15 above), which now dissociates the definition of rape from adultery, as well as establishing of bodies that address of gender-based violence at the local level, to address violence against women in the Darfur States. While these steps are welcomed, concrete measures to prevent and address sexual and gender-based violence and other forms of violence against women should be developed at the earliest opportunity. 10