A/HRC/35/27 result of military operations. 2 Sexual exploitation and violence, including demands for transactional sex in order to access both food and non-food items, are commonplace. The risks have been exacerbated by a lack of adequate assistance for internally displaced persons. As well as the abduction of many women and girls by Boko Haram, the whereabouts of thousands of displaced men and boys remains unclear. While many have been killed by Boko Haram or during the counter-insurgency or are held captive by Boko Haram, others are being detained by security forces. They must be treated in accordance with international standards. Measures to identify the dead and missing must be stepped up (see A/HRC/35/27/Add.1). Ukraine 17. The former Special Rapporteur undertook a follow-up visit to Ukraine from 1 to 9 September 2016. He commended the Government for the progress it had made, which included the adoption of a law on internal displacement and the establishment of the Ministry for Temporarily Occupied Territories and Internally Displaced Persons, but found that more needed to be done to implement the law effectively and to harmonize resolutions passed under its framework, as well as to establish effective coordination mechanisms among ministries of the national Government, regional authorities and municipal authorities. He recommended to the Government to formulate a comprehensive and forward-looking strategy on internally displaced persons that would be geared towards integrating their needs and rights (including in the areas of employment, housing, social assistance, documentation and political participation) into displacement-sensitive policies and programmes, with the ultimate aim of achieving durable solutions for internally displaced persons. 18. A major challenge affecting the welfare of internally displaced persons has been the link between their registration and the payment to them of pensions and social benefits, due to a system based on the verification of places of residence, which has led to suspension of payments affecting about 500,000 internally displaced persons resident in eastern Ukraine. The Special Rapporteur strongly recommended that such payments be delinked from the registration of internally displaced persons. Freedom of movement also remained problematic. At the few checkpoints along the contact line, people queued for hours or even days, at risk to their safety. No special arrangements were made for the elderly, children, pregnant women or persons with disabilities. The Special Rapporteur called on all parties to grant unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance and to allow people to move freely to reach safety, to access services and to exercise their rights. Serbia and Kosovo 19. The former Special Rapporteur conducted a working visit to Serbia and Kosovo from 11 to 15 September 2016 to follow up on recommendations that he had made in 2013. He urged the intensification of efforts to achieve durable solutions for persons who had been in protracted internal displacement for some 17 years. He emphazised that all durable solution options for internally displaced persons should remain open, and must be delinked from political processes. Many internally displaced persons live in squalid conditions, especially members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, many of whom have specific protection needs and experience challenges in realizing their rights to housing, employment, health care and education. Adequate housing is a key component of durable solutions and should be linked to livelihood opportunities. Other issues of concern to internally displaced persons include illegal occupation of properties, and compensation where properties cannot be recovered. Georgia 20. The former Special Rapporteur conducted a follow-up visit to Georgia from 24 to 29 September 2016. He commended the positive amendments to the legislation on internal displacement and the new registration exercise for internally displaced persons in 2013 and 2 6 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?LangID=E&NewsID=21100.