A/HRC/9/14 page 5 Ambassador of the African Union, the Ambassador of France, the European Commission Head of Delegation, the chargé d’affaires of the Netherlands and the Head of the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom. 5. The independent expert visited the Rumonge prison in the province of Bururi and the Mpimba prison in Bujumbura Mairie. In Mpimba prison, he interviewed the former chairman of the ruling party Conseil national de défense et de la démocratie-Forces de défense et de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD) on the circumstances of his arrest, detention and trial at the Supreme Court. 6. In the present report, the independent expert briefly highlights the most significant events during the period under review. He also sets out the efforts made by the Government of Burundi to create conditions for the enjoyment of human rights; human rights trends and violations; the sequence of the implementation of his recommendations; and issues that are still outstanding. Finally, he makes a number of recommendations to improve the human rights situation in Burundi. II. ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS MADE BY THE GOVERNMENT IN CREATING THE NECESSARY CONDITIONS FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS 7. The independent expert was appointed as holder of the mandate in April 2004, at a time when Burundi was going through a transitional period, following the 2000 Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement. During that period, the transitional Government was faced with a multitude of challenges associated with the post-conflict governance, including: (a) Lack of a consensus constitution; (b) Lack of an elected parliament; (c) Absence of an integrated national army; (d) Absence of an integrated national police force; (e) A parallel justice system; (f) The phenomenon of child soldiers; (g) Political prisoners arising from the period of internal conflict; (h) Demobilization; (i) Lack of a free media; (j) Routine abuse of human rights; (k) General widespread poverty.