A/HRC/42/42/Add.1 68. Although the delegation was told that Chad had closed its borders, transborder crime, including trafficking of drugs, weapons and persons, continued. Beyond the Lake Chad region, the vast and distant parts of the country known as “no man’s land” have provided routes for criminal activities. The magnitude of these activities is not easily determined, but their occurrence is reportedly due to the conflicts in bordering States. 69. Limited access to basic services and sources of livelihood, as well as high unemployment and poverty, have taken an additional toll on people in affected areas. Much of the national budget and aid have gone into security and to tackling armed actors. The financial crisis of the Government of Chad has made it difficult to address socioeconomic needs. Over $400 million has been spent on defence and security, reportedly more than what has been spent on humanitarian aid. 70. The Working Group notes that Vision 2030 and the national development plan for Chad focus, inter alia, on improving security as a development factor. The national development plan acknowledges that the mass influx of people fleeing security crises in countries bordering Chad continues to be a threat to peace and social cohesion and contributes to the contagion of conflict in the subregion. Sexual and gender-based violence 71. As mentioned above, women and girls who were forcibly taken captive had been subjected to sexual and gender-based violence, including rape, torture, sexual slavery and killings, particularly in the Lake Chad region. Many women were said to have followed spouses or children who had been abducted, and ended up being held captive by Boko Haram. Some managed to escape; those who made unsuccessful attempts were beaten or attacked. An aid worker who had been in contact with a group of girls who had been abducted by Boko Haram described the severely traumatized state the girls were in. He stated that even with hospital care and support from aid agencies, some of the girls were not able to speak or communicate. It has been difficult to provide the psychosocial care required given the magnitude of the trauma suffered by so many due to the conflict-related violence and abuse. Furthermore, many have said that in refugee and internally displaced camps women and girls continue to be victims of sexual and gender-based violence, and there was a need to strengthen protection for victims even in those settings. The Working Group also notes with concern the difficulties faced by refugees and displaced persons living in camps, particularly women, with respect to gaining access to justice. 72. As a result of men being abducted or recruited into armed groups, women have been increasingly taking the role of head of household. Homes that are headed by women are vulnerable to being destabilized by sexual and gender-based violence. Children born of sexual violence face stigmatization and are often not able to be registered to obtain birth certificates. 73. The Working Group emphasized the important role of women in preventing conflict and in peacebuilding and the need for the Government to take into account gender issues in all aspects of its measures. Gaoui camp 74. The Working Group met with refugees and returnees at the Gaoui camp. At the time of the visit, the majority of persons in the camp were returnees of Chadian origin who had fled the conflict in the Central African Republic. Since 2014, the number of the people in the camp has grown to about 5,000, and most are women and children. Many of the women have been widowed, and children orphaned, due to the conflict. Several of the individuals who spoke with the delegation were from Bangui, Bambari and Bossangoa, in the Central African Republic. There had been around nine unaccompanied children in the camp, but UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration had helped them find their families. Support has been provided by various donors for the reintegration of returnees. Some residents in the camp had support from income-generating activities. 75. It was clear that the situation was extremely difficult for residents in the camp, and that they required sustained support, as did thousands of others in similar cases around the country. There is a clear need for employment and the means to make a living. The delegation 11