A/HRC/38/31 9. The team encountered various obstacles to the effective conduct of its investigation. The vast size of the territory in question, coupled with the fact that access to witnesses was difficult owing to road conditions and security issues, presented daily challenges. Delays in deploying the team in the field also posed challenges. 10. The team adopted the same standard of proof as the majority of international commissions of inquiry and other fact-finding missions, namely, that there should be “reasonable grounds to believe”, meaning that corroborating information must be received from at least two sources. 11. The team incorporated a gender perspective in all its work and paid special attention to allegations of sexual and gender-based violence. In addition, it also established an investigation methodology adapted to the specific needs of minors. 12. Notwithstanding the fact that procedures were set up in line with best practices for witness protection and confidentiality, a number of witnesses expressed concern about the sharing of their testimonies when they related to acts of violence committed by the defence and security forces or by their own communities. IV. Applicable law 13. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is inter alia a party to the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its first Optional Protocol; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and its Optional Protocol; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its first two Optional Protocols. It is also a party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and its protocol concerning the rights of women in Africa and the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region and its various protocols. 14. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a party to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977, as well as to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, whose definitions of international crimes were recently incorporated into the country’s Criminal Code. 15. The international team of experts has also considered Congolese national law, in particular the safeguards for human rights included in the Constitution. V. Background 16. Since July 2015, the Kasaï region has consisted of five provinces: Kasaï, Kasaï Central, Kasaï Oriental, Lomami and Sankuru.2 Kasaï is one of the least developed regions of the country. Despite an abundance of natural resources, the economy has been in ruins for several decades. Extreme poverty and chronic underdevelopment have persisted because of the very low level of State investment in the region’s basic services. 17. The Kasaï region, whose population is mostly Luba, has traditionally been a stronghold of the main opposition party, the Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social, which explains in part why the region is marginalized at the national level. A wave of violence erupted in Kasaï in 2016 in a national context of tension related to the presidential election. In December 2016, the presidential majority and the political opposition signed an agreement calling for a presidential election by the end of 2017 and prohibiting President Kabila from running for a third term. Yet in 2017 it became clear that the election would not take place by the end of the year as stipulated in the agreement. Demonstrations calling for the agreement to be respected were forbidden or suppressed in several cities. The Kasaï region was not particularly affected by the demonstrations. While it may be difficult to 2 GE.18-10936 Redistricting, called for by the Constitution, was implemented in July 2015. 5