A/HRC/22/16 thousands” of civilian deaths alleged to have occurred in the first five months of 2009, were taken. 15. On accountability, a Court of Inquiry was appointed in January 2012 by the Army Commander, tasked with inquiring into the observations of the LLRC in its report on alleged civilian casualties during the final phase of the Humanitarian Operation and a probe into the Channel-4 video footage. Progress of the Court of Inquiry in investigating more than 50 incidents referred to in the LLRC report was referred to. The Army had appointed a Board of Inquiry to study the LLRC recommendations and formulate a viable action plan to implement relevant recommendations. The Sri Lanka Navy had also initiated similar measures. 16. With regard to allegations of torture, several avenues for investigation and prosecution of offenders, as well as preventive measures taken, were explained. The current status of the Bill on the protection of victims and witnesses was also elaborated on. Regarding military presence in the former theatre of conflict, there has been a significant reduction of the military strength in the North since the end of the conflict and there is no intrusive presence impacting on civilian life – in Jaffna or in the Wanni. On the contrary, the military had assisted civilians resume their normal lives. Livelihood assistance has been facilitated by the armed forces, contributing to restoration of normality. Functions have now been taken over by the civilian administration. 17. On the supposed increase in sexual violence in the North, Women’s Protection Units with female police officers and Women’s Centres had been established in the welfare centres and counselling services were provided. Action had been taken to combat sexual violence. Any correlation between military presence and sexual violence is unfounded. Protection of women and advancement of their rights has been a cornerstone of Government policy in the post-conflict phase. Several projects have been initiated including a focus on conflict-affected women and female-headed households. Sri Lanka ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and acceded to the Optional Protocol. Its periodic report was considered by the Committee and responses on concluding observations have been submitted. 18. Language policy was a key issue which impacted upon the reconciliation process. Steps had been taken in relation to the Trilingual Policy (2012 to 2020), and its implementation. On the way ahead as a nation and the institutional and other arrangements to unify the people and work together for a mutually beneficial future, the Government’s approach to evolving a consensus formula remains the establishment of a PSC, aimed at achieving a multi-party consensus. Government has already nominated its members and the opposition nomination of members was awaited, to commence sittings. 19. The Government had taken steps to restore normality to the conflict affected areas committing US$ 2.8 billion to ongoing projects in 2011, in addition to expenditure on humanitarian assistance and relief. The economy in the Northern Province had grown by 22 per cent [as against 7 per cent nationally] in 2010 and 27 per cent in 2011 [as against 7.5 per cent nationally]. The Millennium Development Goals are integrated into the national development agenda. Sri Lanka has achieved some and is on track to reach most indicators. The United Nations Development Assistance Framework, applicable from 2013, reflects this approach towards developing a stable and prosperous Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka requested an objective assessment of what has been done. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 20. During the interactive dialogue, 98 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 5