A/HRC/28/49 SPLA for military purposes. On 29 October, the Government, assisted by the United Nations, launched a campaign entitled “Children, Not Soldiers”, aimed at addressing the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict. On 5 December, the United Nations, led by UNICEF, signed a memorandum of understanding with a rebel group, the South Sudan Democratic Movement/South Sudan Defence Army (SSDM/SSDA)-Cobra faction, based largely in Jonglei, on the release and reintegration of approximately 3,000 children associated with the group. 35. On a positive note, the National Legislative Assembly passed a bill for the ratification of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, with no reservations. D. Administration of justice 36. South Sudan continued to face persistent challenges in the administration of justice in accordance with international human rights standards. The conflict has undermined the rule of law across the country, resulting in a marked absence of prosecutors and judges not only in conflict-affected states but also in states not affected by fighting, such as in the Greater Equatoria and Greater Bahr el Ghazal regions. As a result, serious cases, including murders, continued to be addressed through traditional customary courts which are illequipped and do not meet international human rights standards. Customary courts often impose unlawful detention or other sentences, without proper procedural safeguards. Detention imposed by customary courts, beyond their jurisdiction, was observed, particularly in Eastern Equatoria, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Western Equatoria. 37. Arrests and detention by security agencies, especially by the National Security Services (NSS) and SPLA, continued to be a problem. Numerous cases were reported to UNMISS of NSS arbitrarily arresting and detaining individuals “on grounds of national security”. Besides going beyond the scope of their legal and constitutional authority, NSS were found to have engaged in other violations involving arbitrary arrest, notably the arrest and detention of individuals without informing them of the reason, or the detention of individuals in non-gazetted places, where their family and lawyers were unable to gain access to them. 38. UNMISS regularly monitored detention facilities across the country and its reports indicated that conditions of detention have not changed since the previous reporting period, still falling short of international standards. Proxy detentions, arbitrary detentions, detention for acts not amounting to crimes, and prolonged detentions, as well the detention of juveniles with adults, remained of deep concern. UNMISS has also observed incidents where executives at low levels of government interfere with the law enforcement process by ordering arrests and detention. 39. On 9 September 2014, a 14-year-old boy was allegedly taken into custody by SPLA soldiers in front of the UNMISS protection of civilians site in Bentiu, Unity State. Similarly, in August, several women were reportedly arbitrarily detained by SPLA in Juba and physically assaulted while in custody. The women were released the same day, after intervention from a high-level SPLA officer. 40. Prolonged pretrial detention remained widespread in South Sudan owing to lack of capacity and resources, and sometimes because the detention was politically motivated. For example, two members of the State Legislative Assembly in Lakes State have remained in detention since 24 October 2014, allegedly for having assisted armed youth groups to resist government efforts to separate two communities, in order to reduce violence. The detainees have not been charged with a crime nor have they had access to legal counsel. On a positive note, in Aweil East county in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, following UNMISS advocacy, 10