A/HRC/45/15/Add.1 including disaster risk reduction, and ensure that disability is integrated into all other Federal Department of Foreign Affairs strategies in this area. 88. The Special Rapporteur recommends that Switzerland consider ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, recognizing the competence of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to receive and consider communications from or on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to be victims of a violation of the provisions of the Convention. 89. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Swiss education authorities at the federal and cantonal levels to consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in all aspects of planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of inclusive education policies and programmes. 90. The Special Rapporteur urges the federal and cantonal authorities to take concrete measures to combat the perception of traditional gender roles in the family and in society, with a view to promoting equality of opportunity in employment. He further urges the authorities to continue to promote increased women’s representation at all levels of public administration, particularly in decision-making positions, and promote their participation in management roles in the private sector. 91. The Special Rapporteur recommends the introduction of shared parental leave in order to improve the equal sharing of responsibilities within the family and in society. 92. The Special Rapporteur encourages cantonal authorities to expand the existing early-childhood facilities and the provision of a childcare allowance and to make full use of the federal programmes and funding that can be provided in that regard, particularly in rural areas. 93. The Special Rapporteur recommends strengthening the existing equality offices and commissions at the cantonal level and ensuring that they, along with the Federal Office for Gender Equality, are provided with the human and financial resources necessary for their functioning. He encourages the governments at the federal and cantonal levels to develop and implement measures aimed at achieving the substantive equality of women and men in all areas through the creation of incentives, targeted recruitment and the setting of time-bound goals and quotas in areas in which women are underrepresented or disadvantaged and in both the public and private sectors. 94. The Special Rapporteur, reiterating recommendations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, recommended that Switzerland adopt a national strategy to prevent and combat poverty, ensuring that it focuses on the individuals and groups most affected and is implemented in accordance with a human rights-based approach and with the participation of the persons concerned, that sufficient resources are allocated to its implementation and that effective coordination mechanisms are established at the federal level in order to prevent disparities across cantons. 95. The Special Rapporteur urges Switzerland to establish as soon as possible an independent national human rights institution with a broad human rights protection mandate and adequate human and financial resources, in conformity with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). 18