A/HRC/25/71 murders per 100,000 inhabitants). The increase was gradual and steady. In 2010, 1,045 cases were reported, and 1,298 in 2011. In 2012, 16 of the 1,428 homicides recorded were attributed to the authorities (10, 23 and 27 the previous three years, respectively). Victims of gangs and crimes (1,019) have increased dramatically compared with 2009 (463). There have also been a considerable number of cases of mob justice (lynching) (86, 150, 105 and 113, respectively, from 2009 to 2012), which reflect the lack of confidence in justice. 51. We can therefore note with concern a deterioration in respect for the right to life, due primarily to the inability of the executive branch to protect this right, as well as the passive attitude of the judiciary towards such crimes, starting with those attributed to State agents. The report of the Episcopal Commission does not contain any specific information on this judicial activity, but there is a very harsh conclusion in this regard: “Currently justice is in a lamentable state [...] because other authorities are exercising pressure about judgements to be handed down, sometimes in order to release persons found guilty. This aspect of justice should be considered as one the causes of the sharp rise in mob justice and lynching across the country.”19 This assessment comes from a qualified segment of the population, reflecting a lack of confidence in the State with regard to the protection of human rights. For its part, the Government gives it assurances that the crime rate is now on the decline, since the number of serious thefts recorded has dropped by 34 per cent and the number of cases of abduction by 55 per cent. 52. Violence is also a matter of particular concern. For the years 2009 to 2012, the report of the National Episcopal Commission mentions 57, 39, 65 and 55 cases, respectively. Although the Government reports that the number of rape cases has dropped by 58 per cent, there is considerable underreporting of rape. According to the Episcopal Commission: “Although the number of rape cases reported has not increased, there are reasons for this. The rape cases recorded are the ones which cause public scandal. Rape cases involving minors totalled 19 in number. Conditions must be right for the women to speak up and denounce the rape they suffered. Society does not seem to give rape the full weight of a crime. There is information to prove it. In the event of rape an arrangement can easily be reached between the families concerned. This is completely different from when someone is accused of being a thief and becomes the victim of a summary execution. However, rape can completely destroy a woman’s life, especially child rape, rape in the context of criminal gang violence, and rape within the family unit. Much work remains to be done to give rape the real weight of the crime it represents.”20 53. Attacks against human rights defenders undermine the rule of law and are a manifestation of weakness. The independent expert has received allegations of an attack and a series of acts of intimidation and threats against two women, Ms. Malya Villard Apollo and Ms. Eramithe Delva, co-directors of the Commission of women victims for victims (KOFAVIV), which combats sexual violence. They have allegedly been subjected 19 20 GE.14-10841 National Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace “Respect pour la dignité et les droits de la personne en Haïti”, Rapport sur la situation de la violence et les violations des droits de la personne dans le pays en 2012, Rapport de la cinquième année d’observation, Port-au-Prince, pp. 29, 30, 43 and 44. Ibid., p. 37. Concerning impunity in cases of rape, the MINUSTAH Human Rights Section found that in the Nord Department, although 37 complaints had been received by the prosecution service between May and November 2012, only 16 had been processed. In the Sud Department, while 37 complaints had been received by the prosecution service between May and December 2012, only 18 had been processed (MINUSTAH, Human Rights Section, Rapport semestriel sur les droits de l’homme en Haïti – Janvier-juin 2013, Port-au-Prince, September 2013, mimeographed document, p. 28). Along the same lines, see: Agnès Hurwitz, Assistance légale pour les femmes victimes de violence de genre en Haïti, UNDP, April 2013. 11