A/HRC/39/51 41. The Government of Croatia 43 provided detailed information on its social welfare legislation and services, such as the guaranteed minimum benefit introduced by law in 2014 and designed to prevent the occurrence of extreme poverty and prevent social exclusion. Further benefits were available for children with developmental disabilities and adults with disabilities. Croatia also provided information on its Strategy for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (2014-2020), addressing homelessness and introducing measures to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 42. The Government of Italy44 submitted that, during recent years, it had faced a severe economic crisis that had led to the unemployment rate increasing to 12.7 per cent in 2014, which in particular affected young persons. In order to address the challenge of achieving an employment-intensive recovery for its economy, Italy had introduced three main reforms: the so-called Fornero labour market reform, adopted in 2012; the Youth Employment Strategy, which also included the Youth Guarantee National Plan, launched in 2013; and the Jobs Act. In 2017, Italy enshrined for the first time in law a comprehensive national anti-poverty strategy, which included rationalizing social benefits and ensuring coordination between social services. A crucial element of the anti-poverty strategy was the minimum income for inclusion (REI), which provided beneficiaries with an economic benefit paid onto a personal electronic payment card (REI CARD) (up to a maximum of 240 euros per month) and participation in a project to help them find employment. 43. Another group of measures reported by States were initiatives aimed at eradicating discrimination against all groups, and efforts to address issues related to specific groups, such as children and youth, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, women and girls, refugees and internally displaced persons. Many countries listed constitutional and legislative provisions prohibiting discrimination on a number of grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, disability, age and religion. Some countries had national strategies aiming to ensure equal rights and opportunities, such as policies for persons with disabilities, on Roma inclusion and against racism and hate crimes. A number of countries also provided information on accountability mechanisms and legal avenues to complain against discrimination. However, analysis of the effectiveness of such mechanisms is not available. Such analysis should assess the visibility, accessibility, independence and efficiency of these mechanisms, to determine their usefulness in addressing discrimination. 44. Furthermore, States provided information on participatory mechanisms, either for designing policies to implement the Sustainable Development Goals or drafting voluntary national reviews. Engagement with different stakeholders was noted as an important success factor in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals by countries such as Egypt, Samoa and Switzerland; and a necessary condition of ensuring ownership of the process by countries including China, Finland and the Philippines. Some countries, such as Madagascar, Sierra Leone and Uganda, reported consultation and meetings occurring in various outlying regions to ensure the widest possible participation. A number of countries (Colombia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco and Turkey) reported setting up institutional frameworks for sustainable development. For example, in Mexico, the voluntary national review was prepared under the leadership of the Office of the President, which reached out to numerous actors to obtain information and views; government entities were engaged through a specialized technical committee; civil society was involved through working meetings and open dialogues; and the private sector’s contributions were made through the Mexican Agency for Cooperation for Development. 45. Estonia has reported that the Estonian Sustainable Development Commission (formed in 1996) was an advisory body consisting of civil society umbrella organizations that covered different fields of sustainable development, including education, environmental protection, culture, children, health, local government, academia, private companies, and agriculture. The Commission met four or five times a year to hold thematic 43 44 14 Submission of 22 February 2018. Submission of 27 March 2018.