REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE More than 434,000 people remained internally displaced. They lived in harsh conditions in makeshift camps, and lacked access to food, water, basic health services and adequate sanitation. The spontaneous return of a small number of internally displaced people caused intercommunal tensions in some areas, especially in the southwest. The returns significantly decreased following the renewed violence from June onward. IMPUNITY Members of armed groups, militias and security forces suspected of human rights abuses and crimes under international law did not face effective investigations or trial. Some suspects appeared to be linked to ongoing armed violence, human rights abuses and crimes under international law, and a few held positions of authority. Among them were prominent ex-Seleka leader Haroun Gaye, the subject of an international arrest warrant and UN sanctions, who had admitted orchestrating the kidnapping of six policemen in Bangui on 16 June; and Alfred Yekatom (“Colonel Rambo”), a feared Antibalaka commander also on the UN sanctions list, who began sitting as an elected member of CAR’s National Assembly in early 2016. MINUSCA arrested 194 individuals under its Urgent Temporary Measures, including prominent ex-Seleka leader Hahmed Tidjani on 13 August. A weak national justice system undermined efforts to ensure accountability. The presence and functioning of judicial institutions remained limited, especially outside Bangui. In areas controlled by armed groups, such as Ndélé town, the capital of Bamingui-Bangoran, armed groups and/or traditional chiefs administered justice. Judicial authorities lacked the capacity to investigate and prosecute people suspected of crimes, including serious human rights abuses. In the few cases involving human rights abuses that went to court, defendants Amnesty International Report 2016/17 were acquitted or convicted of minor offences and immediately released for time spent in prison, and fear of reprisals prevented witnesses and victims testifying. INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE Limited progress was made in operationalizing the Special Criminal Court, which would bring together national and international judges to try individuals suspected of serious human rights violations and crimes under international law committed since 2003. The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations on the CAR II situation, based on crimes under international law committed from 2012 onward, continued. Two separate teams worked respectively on crimes committed by ex-Seleka and by Anti-balaka and its affiliates. On 20 June, ICC investigations on the CAR I situation, which focused on crimes against humanity and war crimes since 1 July 2002, resulted in the conviction of a Congolese national, JeanPierre Bemba Gombo, as a military commander. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and pillaging committed by his militia. PRISON CONDITIONS Prison conditions remained poor and security was weak. Of 38 official detention facilities across the country, only eight were functional. In September, guards severely beat 21 inmates in Ngaragba prison in Bangui. This triggered an attempted prison break, which was foiled by guards using tear gas. An investigation into the events was opened soon afterwards by national authorities. NATURAL RESOURCES The Kimberley Process, a global initiative to stop “blood diamonds” from being sold internationally, banned the CAR from exporting diamonds in May 2013. However, the CAR diamond trade continued and armed groups involved in abuses profited from it. In July 2015, the Kimberley Process 113