Action and National Solidarity pays to NGOs dealing with the supervision of widows most of whom depend on the supplementary budget of the State. The campaign waged by the government to have marriages regularized by the authorities of the registry office has contributed significantly to the succession rights of widows. 355. Through the Family Code, the State has taken legal matters of persons and the family from the customary courts and handed them over to the peace courts, and where the peace courts have not yet been established, then to the high courts which exercise interim jurisdiction in the matter. Still on this matter, the Family Code, contrary to the customs, has enumerated without discrimination the categories of intestate heirs based on sex. Thus, three categories of intestate heirs have been provided for: a) children of the deceased, i.e. girls and boys born in the marriage or out of wedlock, but whom he recognized when he was alive, as well as his adopted children; b) surviving spouse (widower or widow), fathers and mothers as well as brothers and sisters of the deceased, and c) uncles and aunts of the deceased as well as the other relatives. This shows progress because, since in addition to the fact daughters and widows were not invited to share in the estate, they were also driven out by the family members of the deceased who considered themselves as first category heirs. 356. Now, the distribution of the estate is now done without discrimination based on sex, contrary to the local customs. In addition, the surviving spouse, i.e. the man or woman, is entitled to a liquidation of the matrimonial property before the distribution of the inheritance. Thus, depending on the matrimonial property, the joint estate of the spouses is divided by two, and only the portion of the deceased forms part of the inheritance, and the woman, being the surviving spouse, is entitled to it as the heir. 357. With regard to the institutional mechanisms, mention can be made of the establishment of the Department of Social Affairs in the Ministry of Social Affairs, Humanitarian Action and National Solidarity and the establishment of the National Fund for Promotion and Social Service (FNPSS); National and Local Women’s Councils; National Fund for the Promotion of Women and the Protection of Children (FONAFEN); National Agency to Combat Violence Against Women and Young Girls (AVIFEM) at the Ministry of Women, Family and Children’s Affairs; National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Economic and Social Commission. 358. A few programmes and activities have been adopted and implemented for the protection of the rights of widows, particularly the national social protection and sensitization strategy and the training of women in the area of empowerment. • PROTECTION OF ELDERLY WOMEN (Article 22) 359. Article 22 of the MAPUTO Protocol stipulates that the states commit to: (i) ensure the protection of elderly women by taking specific measures relating to their physical, economic and social needs as well as their access to employment and vocational training, and (ii) ensure that elderly women are protected from violence, including sexual abuse and discrimination based on age and ensure that they are entitled to dignified treatment. 360. Article 49, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the DRC stipulates that the elderly and persons living with disabilities are entitled to specific protective measures in respect of their physical, intellectual and psychological needs. To determine the modalities for the application of this constitutional right, a draft bill on the protection of the elderly is being formulated. However, certain existing laws ensure the protection of elderly women, including from sexual abuse. These include the following, in particular: • Articles 174 to 298 of Law No. 87/010/ of 1 August, 1987 on the Family Code; • Law No. 06/018 of 20 July, 2006 amending and complementing the Decree of 30 January, 1940 on the Congolese criminal code and No. 06/019 of 20 July, 2006 amending and complementing the Decree of 6 August, 1959 on the Congolese criminal procedure code; • Law No. 08/011 of 14 July, 2008 on the protection of persons living with and affected by HIV; • Law No. 11/008 of 9 July, 2011 on the criminalization of torture which in Article 48 punishes acts provided for under Article 48 (b), among others, where the victim is a pregnant woman, a minor, an elderly person or a person living with a disability; • Laws on sexual violence of 2006; • Law No. 13/011 of 21 March, 2013 on the institution, organization and operation of the National Human Rights Commission which must, in accordance with Article 6, 69