A/HRC/40/12 promulgated by the President of the Republic. The Court’s inaugural session had taken place on 22 October 2018. 9. Despite the challenging security context, the Ministry of Justice had been working for several months, with the support of MINUSCA, to redeploy all judges and others working in the justice system in their home jurisdictions throughout the national territory. Furthermore, judicial activities had gradually resumed in the country’s three courts of appeal with the organization of various criminal sessions. For example, four successive criminal sessions had been held at Bangui Court of Appeal in 2015, 2017 and 2018. During the first session of 2018, the leaders of different rebel groups appearing before the Court on charges of unlawful association and murder had been sentenced to heavy penalties. In addition, the Code of Military Justice had been adopted in 2017. 10. Following the drafting of the Global Strategy for National Reconciliation by the Ministry of Social Affairs and National Reconciliation in November 2014, the public consultations held in 2015 and the recommendations of the National Forum of Bangui made in May 2015, the National Truth, Justice Reparation and Reconciliation Commission had been established. The Steering Committee, created by decree of 11 February 2017, was working on the organization of national consultations and the operationalization of the Commission. In parallel with that mechanism, the Government, with support from the MINUSCA Human Rights Division, had developed a strategy for vetting members of the defence and security forces for prior human rights violations. Accordingly, through an interministerial order of 28 September 2017 issued by the ministers for public security and national defence, a procedure had been introduced for conducting character checks and security screening for members of armed groups applying to re-enter or join the Central African Armed Forces. 11. Human rights were one of the pillars of the new Constitution enacted on 30 March 2016, and a national human rights policy was under development. At the institutional level, the National Commission on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms had been established in 2017 and its executive office was now operational. 12. A reform of the public prison service had been under way for several years and aimed to introduce a demilitarized, professional prison system under civilian authority that was in compliance with international standards and human rights and focused on the social reintegration of detainees. As a result of the new legislation, it had been possible to progressively bring prison infrastructure up to standard and humanize conditions of detention by renovating and fitting out prisons. A national prison health policy and a national reintegration strategy for detainees had also been developed. 13. With regard to children’s rights, the Central African Republic had ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict on 21 September 2017. In so doing, the Government had committed, inter alia, to taking all the necessary legislative and regulatory measures to prohibit and criminalize the recruitment and use of children in hostilities; to consider children who committed offences while under the influence of armed groups as victims rather than perpetrators, in accordance with the Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups; to establish a procedure for the protection and release of children brought before the courts, in accordance with the Principles and other international instruments; and to ensure that children released from armed groups received the necessary support to facilitate their reintegration into their communities. With that in mind, a committee of national experts was working on drafting a specific bill, in parallel with the Child Protection Code that was being finalized. 14. The Government had designed a disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation programme as well as a strategy for the reform of the security sector. The signature of the agreement of 10 May 2015 between the Transitional Government and the armed groups on the principles of disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation and entry into the Central African uniformed services had marked an important step in the peace process and the stabilization of the country. The agreement set out the programme’s eligibility criteria and the modalities for joining the Central African Armed Forces. GE.19-00176 3