A/HRC/12/14 Page 5 14. For the promotion of equal access of women, men and young people to employment, Vanuatu, with the technical support of ILO, has launched a Decent Work Country Programme. The programme prioritises labour legislation reform and application of international labour standards; promotion of decent employment opportunities, particularly for young women and men and persons with disabilities; capacity-building of tripartite partners and improvement of social dialogue; and increased social protection. These priorities are in line with the Pacific Plan Priority 8, which focuses on improved gender equality, and Millennium Development Goal 3 for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. 15. Vanuatu has progressed in the protection of women's rights by passing the Family Protection Act. The Ministry of Justice and Social Welfare through the Department of Women's Affairs is working on a draft conceptual framework for the implementation of the Act focusing on prevention, protection and punishment. Meetings are being conducted with stakeholders involved in implementing this Act to take stock of what is being done under these thematic interventions. A feasibility study on the strengths and weakenesses regarding resources in all provinces will be undertaken before a province can be idenfitied to pilot implementation of the Act. 16. The Police Academy is being trained to handle domestic violence cases and sexual assaults. The Ministry of Justice and Social Welfare will push for better infrastructure and services to give women easy and affordable access to justice, and for training of registered counsellors and authorized persons, including chiefs, teachers, community leaders, judiciary, health workers and police, who will be working towards women's access to justice. The Department of Women's Affairs will run advocacy and awareness training programmes on domestic violence and the Act. 17. The Government will compile existing laws on family issues such as marriage, child maintenance, family maintenance, property rights and maintenance after divorce, family protection and temporary domestic violence orders into one consolidated family law. 18. To promote and uphold children's access to education, the Council of Ministers has decided that in 2010, education will be free for all children from grades 1 to 8. The Ministry of Education has supplied stationery to all schools in the country to assist children with logistical constraints in attending school. 19. Vanuatu is not in a position to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights due to the high threshold of its obligations and the financial constraints, but it is in the preliminary stage of ratification of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Draft policy papers for the ratification of the two conventions will soon be submitted to the Council of Ministers for endorsement. 20. Vanuatu comprises 83 islands and, given the infiltration of international terrorism and various forms of transnational crime in the Pacific region, Vanuatu has reservations concerning ratification of the conventions and protocols relating to the status of refugees and stateless persons. A legal framework to address such issues exists. For instance, the Passport Act empowers the Principal Passport Officer to issue a certificate of identity or travel document to a person if satisfied that the person is a refugee or stateless person.