the Government launched a massive pacification campaign through diplomatic and military means in order to improve the security situation in the conflict zones, thereby ensuring the return of the populations to their locations of origin. Moreover, certain clusters observe needs in a given area without having a partner organization in place to provide the necessary aid. 350. Thus, in regions which do not have stakeholders involved in humanitarian work, the surveillance and early warning systems need good means of communication (radio, telephone and roads) to ensure effective early warning. The lack of means of communication retards the transmission of important information. 351. Operations developed are obviously directly linked to funding obtained by stakeholders involved in humanitarian work. Given the serious nature of the needs, many programmes are obliged to provide a limited response to available resources, even though all the other implementation conditions have been met (strategy, implementation partner and accessibility). 352. In 2009, 5,930 children were demobilized, including 1,222 girls (source: UN information service dispatches; in 2011, 1,780 children, including 1,060 boys and 720 girls, were freed from armed groups, handled by temporary structures and reunited with their families in North Kivu, South Kivu and the Orientale Province from January to December, 2011. In the Equateur Province, 372 children associated with armed groups as well as 600 unaccompanied and separated children (327 boys and 273 girls) were identified and reintegrated into their communities, while in 2012, 1,971 girls and boys were freed from armed groups from January to June. At the end of the period 16 June, 2008-16 June, 2009, thousands of children were freed from armed groups: 399 ES-GA in South Kivu, 2,012 ESFGA in North Kivu (northern part) and 520 ESFGA in North Kivu (southern part). (cf. UEPN-DDR Statistics, 2009). 8. THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN GROUPS ENJOYING SPECIAL PROTECTION • PROTECTION OF WIDOWS, (ARTICLES 20 & 21) INCLUDING THEIR SUCCESSION RIGHTS 353. The Congolese State has taken appropriate legislative measures to ensure the protection of widows. Apart from the Constitution of 16 February, 2006 which stipulates in Article 16(4) that no one shall be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, a few laws may be cited. The most important of these are as follows: • Law No. 87-010 of 1 August, 1987 on the family code which, according to the provisions of Articles 541 and 544, establishes the dissolution of a marriage as of right through the demise of the husband and institutes sanctions against whoever subjects the widower or widow or their relatives to a degrading treatment or the performance of rites which are incompatible with human dignity. Articles 545, 758b, 760, 785 and 790 of the same law provide general information on the inheritance procedure after the demise of the husband or wife; • Law No. 13/013 of 1 June, 2013 on the staff of the Police Service which, according to the provisions of Articles 246, 247, 248 and 249, determines the benefits and rights of the spouse of a deceased police officer. The same goes for Article 207 of Law No. 13/005 of 15 January, 2013 on the status of soldiers of the FARDC; • Articles 41 and 43 of the Decree-Law of 29 June, 1961 on the organic framework on • a survivor’s pension or allowance to the widow whose deceased social security grant spouse is entitled to a retirement pension; • In the event of the demise of a spouse, and under penalty of legal proceedings, Article19 of Law No. 15/013 of 1 August, 2015 on the modalities for the application of the rights of women and parity prohibits the subjection of the surviving spouse to inhuman, humiliating and degrading treatment. • By abrogating the Decree of 4 April, 1950 on polygamy and defining marriage as “a civil, public and solemn act through which a man and a woman who are not bound by a previous marriage establish a legal and lasting union governed by law between themselves”, the Family Code establishes monogamy and frees the marriage as well as family relations from the grip of harmful customs. 354. Concerning administrative measures taken to ensure the protection of the rights of widows, mention should be made of the special attention the Ministry of Social Affairs, Humanitarian 68