A/HRC/36/64 infrastructure, and mass displacement. The Independent Expert noted this situation during her trips to Obo and Birao. 76. Several schools remain or have been newly occupied by armed groups, mainly exSéléka fighters, and are being used as barracks or bases. The acts of violence and abuse committed by armed groups in and around schools are undermining the safety of students and teachers.15 IV. Efforts to fight impunity and transitional justice 77. The Independent Expert continues to believe that the fight against impunity is one of the keys to resolving the crisis in the Central African Republic. She welcomes the progress made in establishing the Special Criminal Court and ensuring its effectiveness. She deplores the fact that armed groups continue to rampage freely and with absolute impunity, spreading terror, devastation and chaos. The population is frustrated that members of armed groups responsible for acts of violence have not been neutralized and tried for their crimes. The necessary measures must be taken to investigate those crimes and arrest the perpetrators without further delay. The Ministry of Justice must increase the resources of the country’s courts as a matter of priority, ensuring in particular that judges have an effective presence in the towns to which they have been posted and that they hold ordinary court sittings and assize court sessions on a more regular basis. The authorities should also consider extending the mandate of the Special Criminal Court in order to send a strong signal that current crimes will not go unpunished. 78. During her most recent visit to the Central African Republic, a large number of people expressed concern to the Independent Expert that, during the peace negotiations, requests had been made for amnesty for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The authorities with which she met, including the diplomatic corps, the Government and the parliament, unanimously stated their determination to fight against impunity and ensure that there would be no possibility of amnesty for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide, in accordance with the outcome of the Bangui Forum, the Constitution and the international conventions ratified by the Central African Republic. 79. On 11 May 2017, the country observed the second National Remembrance Day for the victims of the conflicts in the Central African Republic, which was marked by the laying of floral wreaths at a number of memorial sites in Bangui by the Prime Minister and several members of the Government. 80. The Independent Expert welcomes these measures to promote justice and recognition of victims, which should be supplemented by further steps as part of the transitional justice strategy, including the setting up of a truth and reconciliation commission, the preservation of archives and the construction of a memorial. A. Special Criminal Court 81. Efforts to establish the Special Criminal Court are continuing. In January 2017, the selection panel, made up of United Nations representatives and of the members of the Higher Council of the Judiciary of the Central African Republic, selected Toussaint Muntazini Mukimapa, a military judge from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for the post of Special Prosecutor of the Special Criminal Court, a choice confirmed by presidential decree on 14 February 2017. Following the appointment of the Prosecutor, who arrived in the Central African Republic on 25 May 2017, two female international investigating judges (from France and Burkina Faso, respectively) were appointed. 82. On 5 May, five national judges were appointed. The Independent Expert was concerned at the lack of women among the national appointees, in particular given that the 15 12 See www.hrw.org/fr/report/2017/03/23/pas-de-cours/quand-les-groupes-armes-utilisent-occupentdes-en-republique. GE.17-12914