A/HRC/39/4 by the Head of State, but by the First President of the Court of Cassation. Moreover, the right to bring cases related to the constitutionality of laws before the Constitutional Court had been extended to all citizens. 10. A legal aid fund had been set up and operationalized in 2016. An increase in the resources allocated to the fund had made it possible to raise the number of beneficiaries from 69 in 2016 to 239 in 2017. 11. The reform process was ongoing, with reviews of the Constitution, the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Personal and Family Code under way. The major developments in that context concerned the enshrinement in the Constitution of certain economic, social and cultural rights such as the rights to food and adequate housing, the abolition of the death penalty, the definition of marriage, and the harmonization of the age of civil majority and the marriageable age at 18 years for women and men. 12. In terms of public policies, the National Economic and Social Development Plan for 2016–2020 sought to boost per capita income cumulatively as a means of reducing poverty, building human capacity and meeting basic needs in a fair and sustainable social environment. As part of the Plan’s implementation, several sectoral policies covering various fields of human rights had been adopted. 13. As for the sectoral policy on justice and human rights, the vision of Burkina Faso was to have, by 2027, a justice system that was credible, accessible to all and respectful of the rule of law, such that women and men were guaranteed the exercise of their rights in the interests of a peaceful and united nation. 14. At the institutional level, the High Council for Reconciliation and National Unity, the National Observatory on Religious Affairs, the National Observatory for the Prevention and Management of Community Conflicts and the High Council for Social Dialogue had all been established. In addition, the mandates of the Supreme Council of Justice, the State Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority and the National Human Rights Commission had been strengthened. 15. With respect to the National Human Rights Commission, major innovations had been introduced to bring it into line with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles) pursuant to a law adopted in 2016. Its members had been sworn in in March 2018, and the Commission would be allocated its budget in 2018. 16. Concerning freedom of the press, Burkina Faso had been the top-ranked country in francophone Africa since 2015 according to the World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders. 17. In the field of health, the number of doctors per 100,000 inhabitants had grown from 4.8 in 2014 to 6.3 in 2016 and, with a view to fostering a community-based approach to health care, 17,668 community workers had been recruited in 2017 to cover all the villages in the country. 18. Continuing its efforts to combat female genital mutilation, Burkina Faso had adopted a new national strategic plan for 2016–2020 to promote the elimination of the practice of excision, which had helped to lower the average prevalence among girls aged under 15 years, punish the perpetrators of the practice and improve the care afforded to victims. 19. Regarding access to drinking water, the most recent statistics available pointed to an improvement. In rural areas, the rate of access had increased from 63.5 per cent in 2013 to 66.2 per cent in 2017. In urban areas, it had risen from 86.2 per cent to 91.7 per cent over the same period. 20. Notwithstanding the efforts made, the country was facing economic and financial constraints that were having a negative impact on the effective enjoyment of human rights. Moreover, Burkina Faso had repeatedly been the target of terrorist attacks that had claimed numerous civilian and military victims and had caused significant material damage. In order to provide an effective response to the situation, the National Intelligence Agency and the National Defence and Security Council had been created. In addition, the country had GE.18-11224 3