A/HRC/21/61 placement of the Commission under the Ministry of Justice, however, raised concern about its likely effect on the Commission’s independence. The Independent Expert conveyed his concerns thereon to the Minister for Justice, Hassan Ahmed Aided, whom he met during the mission. 29. The regional authorities continued to take progressive steps towards strengthening the justice and security sectors. In June 2011, the Ministry of Justice launched, with the support of UNDP, a national justice strategy, which sought to harmonize traditional law (Xeer), religious law (sharia) and formal justice policy, to strengthen the capacity of the judiciary and to ensure their independence in conformity with human rights standards. It led to the dismantlement of the regional committees, which had caused serious human rights violations in the past. There was, however, concern about certain patterns of intimidation, arrest and detention of journalists to curb freedom of expression and opinion and the rights of media. In July 2011, the Ministry of Justice, with the support of UNODC, conducted a study on the situation of detainees in Somaliland. According to the study, 70 per cent of prison inmates were sentenced by first instance court without the opportunity to appeal against their conviction. 30. The study showed that, among prison inmates, the majority were on remand or prolonged detention without charges, including one prisoner who was held in remand for four years. It concluded that the pretrial rights of inmates had been violated and neglected by relevant authorities. The main reasons for these violations included lack of coordination between police forces, custodial corps, the Attorney-General’s Office, lawyers and courts, as well as the fact that existing prison administration legislation was outdated and incompatible with the Somaliland Constitution and international human rights standards. 31. The Independent Expert discussed the above concerns with the Minister for Justice, who informed him that, given that the rights to freedom of expression, opinion, press, association and assembly were guaranteed by the Somaliland Constitution, no journalist could be arrested without a warrant unless they went beyond their rights. He regretted that most journalists had no academic background in the field, lacked professionalism and were primarily keen to broadcast sensitive information. The Minister sought technical assistance of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to develop a comprehensive media law that was compliant with human rights standards. 32. The Independent Expert was apprised of efforts by the Somaliland authorities to combat piracy. He learned from UNODC that Somaliland had made progress in eradicating piracy in its coastal area. He was informed about the arrest off the waters of Seychelles of alleged Somali pirates, who were charged with piracy, convicted and subsequently transferred to serve prison sentences in Somaliland under an agreement between the two sides. During his visit to Hargeysa Central Prison, the Independent Expert spoke with the convicted pirates, who were sentenced to terms of 10 to 20 years of jail. The prisoners complained about the denial of due process in that they had not been given the right to appeal under Seychelles law. The Independent Expert passed on this complaint to the Minister for Justice, who stated that Somaliland was satisfied about the fairness of the trials as it had sent a representative to Seychelles to monitor them. He had also asked the Human Rights Unit to look into the matter. 33. The Independent Expert conveyed his dismay to the Minister for Justice that, despite his earlier calls, both young girls and boys were still being put in jail for disobedience to their parents. The Minister acknowledged that secular tradition and customary practices would not disappear overnight; however, since the inception of the current regime in 2010, efforts had been made to adopt and apply a juvenile law. As a result of awareness-raising campaigns for parents, the number of cases had dropped significantly. He added that the Government had established a special section for the rehabilitation of children within the Ministry of Justice to deal with children in conflict with the law. 7