A/HRC/25/64 Rohingya Muslim population, which also include ongoing official and unofficial practices from both local and central authorities restricting rights to nationality, movement, marriage, family, health and privacy. In the country’s ongoing process of democratic transition and national reconciliation, the human rights situation in Rakhine State will be a critical challenge for the Government of Myanmar and the international community to address. H. Democratic transition and establishing the rule of law 52. In assessing the reforms that have been initiated so far, the Special Rapporteur stresses that they can only be viewed as the start of a long process of reform that will be required to address the deep-seated human rights issues in Myanmar, which includes developing an independent judiciary and tackling impunity for human rights violations. In that regard, he notes President Thein Sein’s comment during his nationwide address on 1 December 2013 that the level of achievement so far is “comparable to a sprout that has just come out of a seed”.7 The Special Rapporteur believes that looking back at the four core human rights elements that he specified at the start of his mandate in 2008 will help to objectively put into perspective how far reforms have progressed and how much further they need to go. 53. The judiciary was the Special Rapporteur’s fourth core human rights element. An independent, impartial and effective judiciary is essential for the transition to democracy to uphold the rule of law, ensure checks and balances on the executive and legislative branches of government, and to safeguard human rights and fundamental freedoms in Myanmar. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the President’s acknowledgement in September 2013 that the Government needed to work hard to strengthen an independent judiciary so that the rule of law could prevail in the country. 54. However, there has been little progress in introducing fundamental reforms to the judiciary, and the gist of the Special Rapporteur’s recommended measures under the fourth core element remain pertinent: establish a judiciary that is impartial and independent, including from the direct control of the Government and the military; guarantee due process of law; refrain from charging individuals for alleged infringement of national laws that are in contravention of the international human rights obligations of Myanmar; establish mechanisms to investigate allegations of human rights violations; and seek international technical assistance with a view to establishing an independent and impartial judiciary that is consistent with international standards and principles. Most progress has been seen with this final recommended measure; during the Special Rapporteur’s latest visit, the Attorney General and the Chief Justice outlined to him a range of trainings, seminars and technical assistance programmes that were taking place with the international community. 55. The required fundamental reforms to the judiciary will need to be initiated by the Government. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to muster the political will to instigate reforms which fulfil international standards, including the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, the Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, the Procedures for the Effective Implementation of the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary and the Beijing Statement of Principles of the Independence of the Judiciary. He also encourages the Government to invite the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers to conduct a country visit to Myanmar in the near future to assist with the development of a programme of reform. 7 14 See www.myanmargeneva.org/pressrelease/radio%20speech%201%20dec.pdf.