22. Initially in the aftermath of the Maidan, 314 persons were registered as missing, according to the Office of the General Prosecutor. A large number have since been found alive; some were recognised as killed or dead. It is critical to identify the whereabouts and fate of those who remain missing from Maidan. 23. An International Advisory Panel18 has been initiated by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, to oversee the judicial investigations into the violent clashes during the Maidan events from 30 November 2013 to 21 February 2014. Information has been requested by the Panel into violent acts committed by any person during three periods: the night of 30 November/1 December 2013; 1 December 2013; and 18-21 February 2014. The Panel will hold its first meetings in Kyiv at the end of June 2014. IV. HUMAN RIGHTS CHALLENGES A. Rule of law 24. During the reporting period, the HRMMU monitored a number of measures within the sphere of the rule of law. These included: the introduction of amendments to the Constitution; Criminal Code amendments to toughen sanctions regarding violations of territorial integrity; legislation on the restoration of the credibility of the judiciary; laws providing for amnesties, as well as the law on occupation in the aftermath of the 16 March unlawful referendum in Crimea. Constitutional reform 25. On 17 April, the Cabinet of Ministers issued an Order “On the organization of the discussion of amendments to the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine on the decentralization of State power”. By 1 October 2014, senior government officials, the regional administrations and the Kyiv city administration are to organise debates on the planned constitutional amendments19 that would propose the decentralization of power. This Order accelerates the implementation of the Concept on reforming local government and territorial organization of power in Ukraine, which was adopted on 1 April 2014. 26. Public parliamentary hearings were held on amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine on 29 April, with the main areas of reform aiming to empower local governments, strike a balance between all branches of State power, ensure the independence of the judiciary, and 18 The members of the panel are: Sir Nicolas Bratza, Chairman, a former President of the European Court of Human Rights; Mr. Volodymyr Butkevych, a former Judge of the European Court of Human Rights; and Mr. Oleg Anpilogov, a member of Kharkiv Regional Council. 19 According to the Parliamentary Interim Commission on Constitutional Reform, the main areas of the Constitutional reform are: extension of powers of local self-government, to achieve a balance between all branches of power; the development of an independent judicial branch; oversight of public authorities. Under a new Constitution regional and district state administrations will be dissolved. Local territorial communities would elect regional and district councils (local parliaments) and their heads. The executive committees of local councils would serve as local governments. State power and authority, as well as the functions of setting the local budget would be delegated to such structures. At the same time, state representative bodies would be created and located at the territorial level. They will maintain control over the adherence to legislation in a certain territory but would have no financial or economic influence in the region. 36 | P a g e