A/HRC/9/13 page 6 age of 18 and revokes “signs of maturity” as a criterion for defining a child as adopted by the previous Act. It also prohibits female genital mutilation, raises the age of criminal responsibility to the age of 18, dedicates a section for juvenile trials, and provides for the creation of a special prosecutor and courts. The bill also elaborates on the means of reform and rehabilitation and provides better guarantees for children with disabilities. 15. The fifth national census in the Sudan conducted from 22 April to 6 May 2008 received widely differing reactions around the country with some stating it had been successful and others complaining of underrepresentation of certain elements of the population. In Darfur, the census operation went ahead despite the opposition of all non-signatories to the Darfur Peace Agreement and the Minni Minawi faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA). Internally displaced persons (IDPs) resisted enumeration in a number of camps despite attempts by the United Nations and the international community to break the impasse, and areas in Western Darfur bordering Chad and Southern Darfur remained inaccessible to enumerators owing to the prevailing insecurity. Government officials reported a coverage rate of 85 per cent in Western Darfur and 90 per cent in Northern and Southern Darfur. The National Population Council has announced that it will estimate the number of people not reached by enumerators on the basis of the 1993 census results. 16. On 8 June 2008, President Al Bashir issued Republican Decree 146 adopting a landmark agreement between the National Congress Party and the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement entitled “The Road Map for Return of IDPs and Implementation of Abyei Protocol”. The four main points outlined were: security arrangements, return of IDPs, an interim administration and final arbitration. A follow-up to the decree, specifying the modalities for the establishment of the interim administration was issued on 15 June 2008. The road map establishes the geographical boundaries of the interim administration in an agreed map that was attached to Decree 146. It also gives the Abyei administrative area a special status under the Presidency and establishes the Abyei Executive Council, Abyei Security Committee, and Abyei Area Council, and outlines how they will be financed. This interim agreement will come into effect pending the result of the final arbitration process. 17. The Speaker of the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) announced that the Code of Civil Procedure Bill, the Southern Sudan Research Council Bill, the Personal Income Tax Provisional Order Bill, the Appropriation Bill, the Judiciary Bill, the Judicial Service Council Bill and the Kush Institution Bill have been passed into law. 18. In summary, there has been some progress, however significant portions of the CPA relating to strengthening the human rights record of the Sudan have not been implemented and as a result, the human rights legal and institutional framework remains weak. C. General human rights situation 19. In the present report the Special Rapporteur briefly highlights the most significant events which have occurred during the period under review, region by region.