A/HRC/28/48 critical. The overall presence of policewomen in the national police remains very low: as at October 2014, women comprised approximately 1.5 per cent of the national police — 2,334 of a total force of over 153,000. President Ghani has declared addressing sexual harassment in Afghanistan as one of his priorities and, upon his request, UNAMA/OHCHR submitted a briefing note on this issue, proposing recommendations based on international standards and best practices. 43. In terms of legislative developments, the 2009 Law on the Elimination of Violence against Women remained enacted by presidential decree and was not brought back before Parliament for ratification for fear it would be rejected. As at December 2014, discussions were ongoing within the Ministry of Justice-led Criminal Law Reform Working Group (Penal Code reform subcommittee) to propose the incorporation of criminal provisions of the Law into the revised Penal Code, which would help consolidate the previous gains made under the Law. 44. Encouraging developments were observed regarding the participation of women in the 2014 Presidential and Provincial Council elections as voters, candidates, election staff and observers. During the two rounds of voting held in April and June, their participation as voters constituted 36 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively, in the face of intimidation, logistical constraints and deep-rooted conservative social norms discouraging women’s role in public life. The number of women running for elections was unprecedented, representing 9 per cent of the overall candidates in the presidential race, and 11 per cent for provincial council elections. However, at final count, due to the 2013 amendments to the Electoral Law that reduced the number of seats reserved for female representatives in the Provincial Councils from 25 to 20 per cent, women won 97 seats out of 458 seats (21 per cent), which constituted a sharp decrease compared with the 132 seats out of 458 (29 per cent) they had won in the 2009 elections. With fewer women represented, concerns arise over their ability to effectively promote gender equality within the national political agenda. 45. To underscore the Government’s commitment to the participation of women in political, peace and security processes, the national action plan on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) was endorsed by a steering committee in October 2014. The Government of Afghanistan, in cooperation with civil society, submitted to the United Nations its second report on the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in May 2014.3 To mark the annual 16-day campaign of activism to end gender violence, held globally from 25 November to 10 December, UNAMA/OHCHR, in collaboration with other partners, supported outreach activities across the country, such as debates, radio programmes and workshops, to raise awareness on the imperative to act against violence perpetrated against women and girls. V. Peace and reconciliation, including accountability and transitional justice 46. In 2014, UNAMA/OHCHR continued to support the Afghan People’s Dialogue on Peace initiative. The project promotes a rights-based approach to peace and reconciliation efforts by enabling Afghans to express their views on prospects for peace, reconciliation, security, economic development, human rights, justice and the rule of law. The project has been implemented in two phases: phase I, from October to December 2011; and phase II, from April 2013 to December 2014. In line with the principle of Afghan leadership and 3 Available from www.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/csw/59/national_reviews/ afghanistan_review_beijing20.ashx. 13