A/HRC/16/27 Obstacles to the implementation of existing recommendations 13. The difficulties highlighted in my previous report (A/HRC/13/64, para. 8) have persisted in the period under review. They include a failure on the part of judicial authorities and senior security force officials to grasp the seriousness of the arbitrary and/or illegal arrests and detentions that can be largely attributed to corruption and structural weaknesses of the State. B. Prison conditions, torture and ill-treatment in detention 14. It was previously recommended that the Government should take immediate steps to improve detention and safety conditions in all establishments and give effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in its domestic law. The Government was also invited to take effective measures to ensure that all persons reporting torture or ill-treatment are protected from threats or intimidation.6 Actions taken by the Government and the current situation 15. I welcome the commitments made by the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the universal periodic review,7 including to accede to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to introduce a national preventive mechanism and to improve prison conditions. On 4 April 2010, the Senate adopted the bill on the criminalization of torture, making it a separate offence severely punished by law. Even though this bill and the strategic prison reform plan have not yet been adopted by the National Assembly, they are encouraging signs nevertheless. 16. Despite these advances, I remain concerned at the deplorable detention conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the prevailing insecurity in places of detention. The number of deaths in custody remains high, with about 119 deaths registered between January and June 2010. Several physical assaults on detainees, including rapes, were also reported during the period under review. With the support of the Joint Human Rights Office, the Chief Justice of the Military High Court drew up two directives on 23 June 2010, on torture8 and death in detention.9 These directives require judges to step up monitoring of places of detention with a view to detecting cases of torture and deaths in detention, and to submit monthly reports. However, to date, no such reports have been submitted. 17. Prison escapes have also continued in the past months, often with the use of violence and sometimes with the complicity of staff working in the facility. For example, between 9 and 13 October 2010, 27 detainees, including several soldiers and a former Mai-Mai chief sentenced to long prison terms, the death penalty or life imprisonment, escaped from Osio prison in Orientale province. Little progress has been made on prison reform, which the State had undertaken during the universal periodic review to make a priority through the allocation of adequate resources.10 6 7 8 9 10 GE.11-10197 See footnote 1. A/HRC/13/8, para. 94. See, inter alia, recommendations 2 and 53. Directive No. AG/0793/10 on torture. Directive No. AG/0794/10 on death in detention. A/HRC/13/8, para. 94. See, inter alia, recommendation 54. 7