A/HRC/30/11 33. Honduras had created national judges who dealt with organized crime cases, to protect judges from external influence. It was also part of an Organization of American States judicial programme which aimed at strengthening access to justice. Through the Centre for the Support and Protection of Women’s Rights, the judiciary had also put into practice, with the participation of civil society, coordinated actions to assist women victims of violence. The Public Defender had also assigned human resources to assist women, including through awareness-raising for the empowerment of women deprived of their liberty. 34. The President of the Supreme Court of Justice referred to the case of the judges separated from their posts in 2009, coinciding with the institutional crisis in Honduras that same year. He reiterated that the decision by the Supreme Court of Justice had been based on the verification of the Commission’s various violations of the disciplinary provisions to which such former officials were subject. At the time, the former officials had had access to legal recourses, which had not yet been exhausted. 35. The President of the Legislative Commission on Human Rights noted that the National Congress of Honduras had legislative functions, and oversight functions of the work of public authorities. It played an essential role in the promotion and protection of human rights. The Congress had created spaces for dialogue and consultations with civil society, non-governmental organizations and other interested groups, which had generated a considerable number of legislative proposals. 36. Close cooperation was maintained with United Nations entities and the international community in general. The Congress was working on a priority basis on issues related to the fulfilment of the rights of children, education, security, development, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex groups, indigenous communities and Afro-descendants, the environment and gender. It had identified as a challenge the construction of a legislative agenda agreed with the relevant institutions and civil society. 37. The Congress had the responsibility of ensuring that institutions with a responsibility to protect and promote human rights, such as the Supreme Court of Justice, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Human Rights Commissioner, had the necessary resources to implement their respective mandates. The Congress also played a role in the selection of persons for those positions, received their annual reports and had the responsibility of publicly assessing their performance. 38. The Secretary of State for Human Rights, Justice, Governance and Decentralization reported that, in 2012, the Law on the National Prison System had been adopted. It created the National Penitentiary Institute, assigned resources for the construction of four new prisons to reduce prison overcrowding and contributed to the governance of 29 centres of deprivation of liberty. A new corps of correctional officers had also been created. 39. The Secretariat for Human Rights, together with the National Penitentiary Institute and with the advice of the Human Rights Adviser of OHCHR, had been coordinating the development of the first national policy on the penitentiary, which was expected to be completed soon. The General Regulation of the Law on the National Penitentiary System had been approved and the National Penitentiary Academy was being designed. The provision of food and access to hydro-sanitary and electric systems in detention centres had also been improved. 40. In 2014, the National Institute for Migration for the implementation of the law on migration and the immigration policy had been created. One of the main achievements had been the introduction of the immigration control biometric system and the establishment of a mechanism for combating trafficking. 6