A/HRC/12/12 Page 12 56. Regarding the situation of adolescents in conflict with the law, the major obstacle has been the failure to appear before a court. As a result, a programme works with children and family members to ensure that non–custodial measures can be applied. The National Advisory Board on the Rights of Children and Adolescents recently set up a Committee of Observers responsible for seeing that all international standards are complied with and conducting visits to detention centres on a regular basis. The Child and Adolescent Institute of Uruguay designated a mechanism to investigate human rights complaints. A number of officials have been dismissed. There is also a programme aimed at helping children and adolescents in situations of vulnerability not to lose contact with their families and society. Training in practical areas such as computer services, carpentry and other areas is provided. Information on other health programmes and budgetary provisions for child and adolescents programmes was also provided. 57. Measures to address school dropout rates include the emergency plan and the plan on equity. These measures, which include family benefits for children of school age as well as health and other support services, have given good results. In 2008, about 60 per cent of adolescents were reincorporated in intermediate education. 58. China stressed that within a period of 20 years the country has established a relatively developed civil rights protection system and has always regarded human rights protection as an important national task. China noted that a human rights department was established within the Ministry of Education and culture and referred to the national social emergency plan, including its composite specialized plans. 59. Peru asked about measures that Uruguay intends to take to ensure better conditions of equality between men and women, particularly in the field of employment. Peru recommended that Uruguay: (a) implement promptly the law setting up a national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles; and (b) ratify the Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (ILO Convention No. 169). 60. Bangladesh commended Uruguay for the legal and policy framework adopted. It noted with concern the high dropout and repetition rates among school children, particularly from certain socio-economic and ethnic segments of society. Bangladesh recommended that Uruguay (a) continue to scale up national efforts to eliminate poverty particularly targeting disadvantaged groups, with the support of the international community; (b) continue to promote gender equality and combat all forms of discriminatory practices against women; and (c) further strengthen its efforts to protect the rights of children, with particular emphasis on preventing school dropouts and eliminating child labour and sexual exploitation of children. 61. Portugal asked questions about the impact of the 2004 National Plan to Combat Domestic Violence and the measures to address the problem of overcrowding in the prisons, beyond public investment in expanding and building prisons. Portugal recommended that Uruguay (a) eliminate discriminatory legal provisions in matters relating to family and marriage, such as raising the minimum age of marriage for both men and women to 18 years, eliminating the concepts of “modesty”, “virtue” and “public scandal” from the characterization of sexual offences and making marital rape an offence under the Penal Code, as recommended by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; (b) implement reforms to improve the situation of overcrowding in prisons, with special attention being paid to the strengthening of the specialized system of juvenile justice and the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child; and (c) consider signing the Optional Protocol to the