A/HRC/16/27 Actions taken by the Government and the current situation 48. Some progress can be observed in the administration of justice, including efforts to strengthen the judicial system. Pursuant to a Presidential Order of 30 July 2010, 984 judges were appointed as deputy public prosecutors, and on 31 July 2010 the Minister of Justice and Human Rights announced the creation of 85 magistrates’ courts. One thousand new judges are being trained and should be in post in 2011. It should be stressed that by the end of the present and forthcoming recruitment drive, 400 women will have been recruited, raising the proportion of women in the judiciary from 5 per cent to 25 per cent. Of these women, 100 will be trained in issues related to sexual violence and will be assigned to work in the east of the country. I welcome this initiative and can only encourage the Government to do more in this direction. 49. Judges will only be able to do their job effectively if they have adequate resources. This means, among other things, allocating a reasonable budget to the judicial system to bring it up to international standards, modernizing infrastructure and recruiting sufficient judicial officials. Judges assigned to work in the provinces face non-payment of their post allowance and the absence of an office or accommodation on arrival at their place of work. Given that the training course for new judges is so short, it would be a good idea to set up a mechanism to monitor and evaluate their skills in order to improve their performance and, more generally, the administration of justice. 50. The political and administrative authorities, as well as the security forces, continue to interfere in judicial procedures, not to mention that investigations rarely lead to a proper prosecution or conviction. Interference occurs at every step of the proceedings, as evidenced by refusals to open an inquiry, to bring military personnel suspected of human rights violations to justice or to release people who have been arrested. Judges often receive threats when they try to open a criminal investigation. To give one example, on 12 August 2010, a group of FARDC soldiers who had formerly been members of the Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP) surrounded the judge advocate’s office in Goma and obtained the release of a major of the 212th Brigade stationed in Walikale who had been arrested earlier in the day. 51. The obstacles described above undermine efforts to combat impunity. A classic case of impunity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo concerns General Bosco Ntaganda. Although the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for him and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is cooperating with the Court, Mr. Ntaganda is not only still at large but also continues to play an important role in the armed forces. Moreover, during the universal periodic review the Government did not accept the recommendations that it should uphold its treaty obligations by arresting Mr. Ntaganda and transferring him to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.29 52. During the universal periodic review, the Congolese Government reiterated its commitment to incorporate the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court into domestic legislation as soon as possible.30 It also undertook to accelerate the process of establishing the national commission for the promotion and protection of human rights, in accordance with the Paris Principles.31 Reforms that would give effect to these commitments have not yet been implemented. A bill on the establishment of a national human rights commission has been before Parliament since June 2008. As regards the incorporation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court into domestic legislation, the submission on 4 November 2010 of a bill on the subject to the political, 29 30 31 14 A/HRC/13/8, para. 97, recommendations 5 and 6. A/HRC/13/8, para. 94, recommendation 97. A/HRC/13/8, para. 94, recommendation 13 among others. GE.11-10197