A/HRC/14/5 being considered by Congress, as well as the establishment, in 2006, of a tribunal on Government ethics. 9. Since 2000, there have been continuing efforts to prevent and combat torture through the screening of applicants to the National Academy on Public Security. That measure has prevented the recruitment of security agents involved in violations of human rights and humanitarian law. 10. Several public institutions, such as the National Civil Police, created by the 1992 peace accords, and the Attorney General’s Office, are entrusted with ensuring public security. The delegation acknowledged that the prevailing official policy, centred on police repression and the generalization of preventive imprisonment, has not worked and has caused the country to become one of the most dangerous in the region. The most vulnerable groups are women and girls under the age of 18. The new Administration has taken extraordinary and temporary actions to control criminal activities and to prevent human rights violations. 11. With regard to the electoral system, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal has taken a series of measures aimed at guaranteeing the right to vote for every citizen. For example, a pilot programme on residential voting has been established, the participation of citizens with disabilities has been promoted, and the possibility of voting abroad is being considered. 12. In 2008, new procedural criminal, civil and trade codes were adopted. implementation remains pending, owing to the need to train the legal profession. Their 13. The new Administration has reinforced and extended the “Red Solidaria” programme, aimed at combating poverty in those municipalities in which abject poverty is a severe problem. The programme, now renamed “Comunidades Solidarias”, takes an inclusive and integral approach to improving the health, hygiene, nutrition and education of the families concerned. The programme also incorporates a gender perspective, since women are the main administrators of its benefits, as well as a rights-based approach. Between 2004 and 2009, 106,000 families benefited from the programme. 14. El Salvador is closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, as indicated in its second progress report. 15. The illiteracy rate in El Salvador has fallen to 14.1 per cent, while average school attendance has reached 5.9 years, which is an improvement compared with 2004, when the rate was 5.6 years. The Government is committed to improving those numbers. The delegation highlighted the establishment of a Secretariat for Culture, which has replaced the former National Council for Culture and Art. The Secretariat reflects an institutional upgrade, since it is directly under the President. 16. El Salvador’s legal framework will guarantee the right to health. In that context, the Government has taken steps, based on a human rights approach, to extend health coverage in rural areas and heavily populated urban centres. Social security coverage has increased by 12.7 per cent, reaching 29.7 per cent of the economically active population and 23.9 per cent of the total population. 17. With respect to the right to work, the delegation explained in detail several programmes based on tripartite participation and aimed at generating employment opportunities, in particular for specific vulnerable groups such as young people, the elderly and persons with disabilities. On the other hand, El Salvador has lost 39,000 jobs because of the financial crisis. The Administration plans to create 100,000 new jobs through a temporary employment programme and the improvement of public and private infrastructure. 4