A/HRC/39/73 and evaluation of evidence. Lessons may be learned from the work of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. 81. In March 2018, the Special Rapporteur took the opportunity to meet with senior court officials. She warmly welcomed the work in the Court of Appeal on strengthening judicial reasoning and the discussion on publishing decisions. Greater transparency in judicial decision-making should lead to greater legal certainty, more consistent decisions on evidence and the application of the law, thereby strengthening public confidence in the judiciary. Publishing decisions and reasoning would also be of benefit to universities and the Royal Academy of Judicial Professions in their important work on educating future legal professionals. The plans to fully train and then deploy Court of Appeal judges to regional courts of appeal are also encouraging. This will make justice more accessible and remove the necessity of so many detainees having to travel to Phnom Penh for appeal hearings. 82. The Special Rapporteur urges the Ministry of Justice to push forward with its local judicial service centres and associated education programme to support the greater use of judicial supervision (rather than pretrial detention) and to complement the planned expansion of alternatives to custodial sentencing. 83. Two cases are ongoing at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. Closing statements in case 002/02, the second against Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan, concluded on 23 June 2017. Judgment is expected in 2018. Case 003 against Meas Muth reached the stage of final submissions by the co-prosecutors in November 2017. Case 004 against Im Chaem, Ao An and Yim Tith was severed into three separate case files. On 5 September 2017 the investigation in case 004 was closed for the second time. X. Treaty body reporting and the universal periodic review 84. Cambodia still has a number of periodic reports overdue to the treaty bodies: the third report on the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the initial report on the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance; the initial report on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the combined fifth and sixth reports on the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The combined fourth to sixth reports on the Convention on the Rights of the Child was due in May 2018, and the Special Rapporteur understands that it will be submitted shortly. The combined fourteenth to sixteenth reports on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was submitted in March and the sixth report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was submitted in April. All other overdue reports are currently being drafted. 85. The third report on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is due during the next reporting period. 86. The national report for the third cycle of the universal periodic review should be submitted in November 2018 as Cambodia is scheduled to be reviewed by the Human Rights Council working group at its thirty-second session (January/February 2019). The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to engage in a collaborative effort to consult with a variety of stakeholders during the drafting process, including with civil society organizations, as well as to adopt an implementation plan following the review, and indeed for reporting to treaty bodies. The newly established Inter-Ministerial Working Group directing reporting work on human rights in Cambodia to the United Nations should provide an opportunity to consolidate best practices for collaborative and participatory drafting processes and follow-up through agreed implementation plans. XI. Communications to the Government 87. Between June 2017 and June 2018, there were a welcome number of responses to communications sent to the Government. During that time 11 communications ⸻ 5 urgent 16