A/HRC/7/25 page 14 45. The high cost of legal proceedings relative to the average income of Congolese citizens and the lack of any clear procedure guaranteeing complainants exemption from costs in case of indigence, largely explain the low rate of execution of compensation payments for victims who sue for damages in criminal proceedings and the low number of rapes reported to the prosecuting authorities. Another factor that must be taken into account is the payment of compensation for damages caused by agents of the State; in 2007 the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo set aside only 3 million Congolese francs, the equivalent of US$ 5,357, for that purpose. That money in fact was never disbursed, and in any case is less than the average award granted by the courts in a single case. For example, in the landmark case of the gang rapes committed in Songo Mboyo in December 2003, the State was ordered to pay 165,370 dollars to the victims; no payment was ever made. 46. The Government has however made welcome progress in regard to the taking of forensic evidence. In response to a suggestion from the United Nations Human Rights Integrated Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Government launched a process providing for the adoption of a standard medical certificate for use in doctors’ examinations and the establishment of a minimum protocol for adequately documenting the physical and/or psychological effects of sexual violence on victims.11 Given the difficulty that many victims face in proving that they have been attacked, it is to be hoped that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice will urgently promote the systematic adoption and free issuance of the new model certificate, which will spare victims from having to apply first to a judicial officer for a doctor’s requisition. 47. Although strict time limits are laid down in the legislation for the conduct of proceedings in cases of sexual violence, in practice they are rarely respected. In South Kivu, for example, nearly 80 per cent of rape cases have been under investigation for more than two years. With regard to coercive measures against accused persons, it is a source of concern that perpetrators of sexual violence are almost always left at large, even when there is strong evidence of their guilt and they pose a threat to the security of victims and witnesses. When the perpetrator is released on bail, very few conditions are imposed: in South Kivu 80 per cent of persons accused have not appeared before the investigating judge or a court since charges were laid. 48. One positive development in the context of the fight against sexual violence was the declaration signed on 23 November 2007 in Bukavu, in which the provincial authorities and members of the South Kivu Provincial Assembly affirmed their determination to combat impunity for those responsible for sexual violence. The declaration was formally presented to Ms. Olive Kabila, the first lady of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the Speaker of the National Assembly and to the ministers present in Bukavu on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The Speaker of the National Assembly expressed his support for the initiative and called on the members of the National Assembly to make a similar commitment. In Mbuji-Mayi, in Kasai, Orientale Province, similar declarations 11 The model certificate was developed with the assistance of the Integrated Office, following wide consultations with Congolese organizations and institutions. It was formally approved in June 2007 by the joint initiative to combat sexual violence, an umbrella group of all local and international partners involved in the fight against sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.