and the mobilization of adequate human, material and financial resources. In this regard, the Social Affairs Administration Section that was closed was reopened in April 2016. The functioning of the National Institute of Social Works can provide qualified human resources in the area of social work in order to relevantly meet the varied and increasingly complex needs. 540- Infrastructural challenges were not left out and it is important to consolidate renovations undertaken. Stepping up the partnership approach with other public institutions, the private sector, CSOs, technical and financial partners is ongoing. The rationalization and sustainability through the establishment of a National Solidarity Fund is envisioned. Section 4: Rights of Persons deprived of Liberty 541- (Rec 8, 9) Prison overcrowding remains a major preoccupation for Government. The number of detainees increased from 25,800 detainees for 16,995 beds in 2013 to 30,701 for 17,915 beds in 2017.The Government has taken diverse measures to tackle overcrowding, to ameliorate living conditions in prisons and to overcome security constraints in some Regions. §1: Addressing Prison Overcrowding (Rec. 8) 542- During the annual meeting of Heads of Court of Appeal and Regional Delegate of Penitentiary Administration held on 17 and 18 September 2015, the causes of prison overcrowding such as insufficient number of prisons, limited accommodation capacity, nonadaptability of prisons to international standards, judicial delays due especially to procedural bottlenecks and insufficient equipment and transportation facilities for detainees were identified. Measures such as the construction of new prisons and the rehabilitation of existing ones, review of certain provisions of the PC, transfer of detainees from overcrowded to less crowded ones, improvement of organisation of work and the provision of more human resources in prisons and courts were proposed to curb the phenomenon of prison overcrowding. 543- In a bid to curb overcrowding in prisons, inmates are regularly transferred from crowded prisons to under populated ones in accordance with article 22 and 23 of Decree N° 1992/052 of 27 March 1992. 544- In the same light, legislative reforms have also been undertaken with the introduction of alternative sentences to imprisonment (sections 18-1, 26 and 26-1 of Law No. 2016/007 of 12 July 2016 on the Penal Code), namely community service and reparatory sentences for offences punishable with an imprisonment of less than 2 years or a fine. 545- Remand in custody within the framework of preliminary investigations is 48 hours renewable once. It can be renewed the 2nd time by the Legal Department (Article 119 (2) (a) of the CPC). 546- In addition, the President of the Republic signed Decree No. 2014/58 of 18 February 2014 to commute and remit sentences. This measure concerned 6,330 prisoners found in 77 prisons. Some 726 inmates were consequently released thereby reducing the total number of detainees to 24,789 from 25,515. 547- Furthermore, more Magistrates have been trained in recent years to accelerate the hearing of cases as indicated above (see section on fair trial, § 67 et al.). 548- Measures were taken to adjust the management of Prison population in the Regions faced with security challenges. An increase in the number of detainees was witnessed in some prisons due to Boko Haram insurgency in Far North Region and the socio-political upheavals 91