A/HRC/40/17 56. Finland noted the remaining challenges in the area of sexual and reproductive health and rights and encouraged Malta to take further action in that regard. It also expressed concern about the freedoms of expression and the media, the justice system and ensuring the rule of law and good governance. 57. France welcomed the implementation of a number of recommendations from the second review cycle, in particular the ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. 58. Georgia commended Malta for its ratification of the Istanbul Convention. It also welcomed the measures taken to prevent trafficking in persons for the purpose of labour exploitation. 59. Germany commended Malta for the introduction of same-sex marriage in July 2017. Germany expressed concern that there was no explicit prohibition on the recruitment of children under the age of 15 years in the Armed Forces in Malta. 60. Greece commended Malta for its ratification of the Istanbul Convention, the initiatives to encourage women to enter or remain in the labour market and the enactment of the Civil Unions Act, granting same-sex couples in a civil union the same rights as heterosexual married couples. 61. The delegation of Malta provided responses to a number of questions posed by Member States. Regarding the rights of women and sexual and reproductive health and rights, the Government had carried out awareness-raising campaigns on health, sexuality and relationship education since 2013. Malta had licensed the sale of emergency contraception without medical prescription. 62. Regarding questions on the representation of women in decision-making roles, women constituted 15 per cent of members of Parliament and half of the country’s representatives within the European Parliament. The President of Malta was a woman. The delegation expressed the commitment of Malta to promote gender-balanced representation in the public arena. The 2017 government programme had included positive measures to increase the participation rate of women in Parliament, and national discussions had been launched to introduce gender equality targets. The Government would publish a green paper on the constitutional amendments to be introduced into Parliament. 63. The Government had been considering legal amendments to allow ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the withdrawal of some of its reservations to the Convention. However, Malta would retain its reservation to article 16 of the Convention. 64. As regards the fight against corruption, money-laundering and financial crimes, the constitutional reforms to the justice sector in 2016 had strengthened the independence of the judiciary. In addition, Malta had had a robust regulatory framework since 1994 and a legal framework for the banking sector since 1968. 65. Malta had increased the financial allocations and human resources of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit in order to strengthen its supervisory role in mitigating the risks associated with money-laundering and the financing of terrorism. The Unit had been operating in accordance with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force. The Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (1994) provided guarantees for the independence of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit and extensive powers to investigate. The Unit had also been mandated to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering laws through the imposition of considerable fines. 66. Furthermore, Malta had transposed the European Union anti-money-laundering directives into national law, and was continuously discussing with the European Commission the issue of how to improve its legal framework. 67. The Government was actively working to save thousands of migrants at sea and to protect their rights. The Armed Forces of Malta, which were responsible for maritime search and rescue, had been guided by the provisions of international law. Meanwhile, the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers had been providing material support and accommodation to asylum seekers. 7