A/HRC/42/61 concluding observations on the second periodic report of the Central African Republic (CRC/C/CAF/CO/2). A crucial first step is the adoption and promulgation of the Child Protection Code. The Independent Expert also wishes to stress the importance of a coordinated and holistic approach to issues related to children in conflict with the law. She regrets that juvenile courts are still not working properly and that children imprisoned for offences are held alongside adults. There is only one juvenile rehabilitation centre. 69. The Independent Expert continues to take a particular interest in the situation of young people in the Central African Republic. As a result of their vulnerability, they are often victims. They also constitute a recruitment pool for armed groups. During each of her visits, the Independent Expert met with groups of young people who, on each occasion, clearly expressed their need for education, training and employment. The Independent Expert urges the Central African authorities to strengthen existing initiatives in this regard and to prioritize investment in youth. Such investment will help to combat the lack of activity among young people resulting from the massive levels of unemployment and thus reduce their exposure to extremist messages and manipulation by those who do not prioritize peace. Some young people who have been demobilized are taking up arms again because they are unemployed. The support of international partners, including the private sector, will be essential to these processes and to encouraging the stabilization of the country and sustainable peace. In the immediate future, the Independent Expert recommends the active inclusion of young people in short-term economic projects such as labour-intensive work. G. Economic, social and cultural rights 70. The Central African Republic is ranked second from bottom in the world (188th place) in the human development index for 2018. The level of structural poverty has worsened, dropping from 62 per cent in 2008 to 75 per cent in 2017 as a result of repeated massive displacements of civilians and the loss of their productive capacity. 71. With regard to the right to food, for example, the National Food Security Survey conducted in December 2018 indicates that approximately 2.1 million people – almost half of the population – are facing hunger. This critical situation of chronic malnutrition has persisted for nearly two decades in the country, with serious consequences such as delays in cognitive development, diminished school performance, increased mortality, low productive capacity in adults and a lack of access to education. 3 72. Indicators in the area of health are also extremely worrying. The infant mortality rate is 88.5 per 1,000 births and the under-five mortality rate is 123.6 per 1,000 births. 4 Most of these deaths are from preventable causes. Health remains one of the areas where needs are high as a result of persistent constraints on access to health services and outbreaks of epidemic-prone diseases such as hepatitis E, monkeypox and yellow fever. The Minister of Health has expressed concern about the resurgence of polio and the fact that cases of Ebola virus have been identified in a neighbouring country and could spread to the Central African Republic. The Independent Expert nevertheless acknowledges, as the Minister has pointed out, that health is both a problem and an asset, in that health facilities represent spaces of social cohesion that could serve as a crucible for peace and reconciliation. 73. The extent of the psychosocial assistance needs of victims and various segments of the population once again caught the Independent Expert’s attention. The impact of the trauma suffered by the population as a result of the many years of war and violence must be a central concern: only by resolving this situation can the people of the Central African Republic make full and smooth progress towards coexistence, reconciliation and, consequently, lasting peace. The Independent Expert notes the interest the Central African authorities have taken in this issue, which has led to the ongoing development of a mental 3 4 12 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Central African Republic: humanitarian situation and urgent funding requirements, update of 27 March 2019. United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Reports, Central African Republic, Human Development Indicators. Available at http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/CAF#. GE.19-13726