A/HRC/14/41 remains a source of frustration for many stakeholders. To date, a definitive set up and functioning of one of the key institutions envisaged under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the law has not been implemented. 76. The application of the death penalty to minors and in cases where trial proceedings fail to conform to guarantees of due process set out by international law remains a cause for concern in the Sudan. Executions have been carried out in spite of claims by defendants that they were forced to confess to their guilt under duress. 77. Concerns have also been raised about the violations of political and civil rights in the context of the electoral process. With the referendum on South Sudan yet to be conducted, it is essential that the Government provide an environment conducive to the exercise of political rights, with firm guarantees of the fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly in accordance with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim National Constitution. 78. Alarms continue to be raised about allegations of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and ill-treatment of individuals by the military, security and intelligence forces. In Darfur and Southern Sudan, the lack of accountability for serious human rights violations remains a matter of utmost preoccupation, as it must. To date, very few perpetrators have been brought to trial for crimes committed during the conflict in Darfur. 79. One primary concern of the independent expert is the increasing incidence of tribal violence in South Sudan and the attendant loss of life, especially among women and children. The Government of South Sudan has the primary responsibility for ensuring the protection of civilians; it therefore needs to take effective measures to address the serious institutional gaps in the justice and security sectors in a coordinated manner to promote respect for the rule of law and the protection of human rights. 80. Given the complexity, diversity and multiplicity of the outstanding, serious human rights concerns in the Sudan, it is imperative that both the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan act or be seen to act with resolve to address human rights. The independent expert encourages the Government of National Unity, the Government of Southern Sudan and all revenant authorities to engage fully with the United Nations system, the African Union, international and national organizations, including civil society, as trusted partners in the promotion and protection of human rights in the Sudan. B. Recommendations 81. The independent expert reiterates all previously unimplemented human rights recommendations contained in previous reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, as well as those made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Group of Experts on Darfur. 82. In particular, the independent expert recommends that the Government of National Unity: (a) Refrain from applying the death penalty against minors and also ensure that, in all other cases, the death penalty is applied in a very strictly defined set of circumstances, including guarantees that the minimum fair trial standards demanded by article 14 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights have been respected; and that it institute a moratorium on the imposition of the death penalty, as called for by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/149; GE.10-13648 19