A/HRC/25/9 protection for all citizens. It also gives all Jordanians the right to work and to establish trade unions and political parties and ensures that the right to education is free and compulsory. 8. The delegation stated that constitutional amendments also protect mothers and motherhood and people with disabilities. The amendments guarantee, inter alia, freedom of opinion, of the press and of expression, as well as literacy, artistic and cultural freedoms and privacy in personal communications, and that no civilian can be tried before noncivilian judges. Jordan has enacted legislation, including laws on political parties, elections, public gatherings and press and publications. The new Independent Election Commission enhances transparency and the Constitutional Court oversees the constitutionality of laws. 9. The delegation stated that two major achievements in 2013 have marked the path to democracy and comprehensive reform: parliamentary elections in January took place in the framework of impartiality and transparency in accordance with the best international practices and with the observation of local and international monitors. Voter registration exceeded 70 per cent, despite calls for a boycott, and a 57 per cent voter turnout which was among the highest in the history of the country. All components of Jordanian society are now represented in the current parliament. Following the elections, the King voluntarily waived his constitutional right to appoint the Prime Minister and for the first time asked the parliament to make the nomination. The second important event was the holding of transparent municipal elections last August. In these elections the representation of women increased to 36 per cent from 25 per cent previously. Moreover, the King has recently issued four discussion papers in order to contribute to a national dialogue on the best democratic model to which Jordan aspires. 10. The delegation highlighted the King’s order to the Government to amend the law of the State Security Court and limit its powers to the crimes of treason, espionage, terrorism, drug-related crimes and counterfeiting of currency. 11. The delegation stated that in order to further strengthen the rights of women and their participation in public life and the promotion of equality and put an end to certain social practices, Jordan has introduced amendments to several laws. Additional new laws have been enacted, such as the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence, laws on the prohibition of trafficking in human beings while the Personal Status Law of 2010 enhanced the rights of women and children. The delegation emphasized that the Penal Code had been amended in order to put an end to practices that stand in the way of effective implementation of human rights, such as so-called crimes of honour. To enhance the status of women and to ensure the elimination of all forms of violence, the legislative amendments increased sanctions for crimes of physical violence and such crimes as rape, indecent assault, abduction, and sexual harassment. 12. The delegation stated that in order to promote women’s participation in decisionmaking and raise the level of representation of women, the legislative amendments of 2012 increased the quota of seats in parliament allocated to women to 15 and the elections in 2013 witnessed an increase in the number of women in parliament to 18, 3 of whom won their seats outside the quota. The proportion of women in Parliament increased from 10.8 to 12 per cent. Consequently the proportion of women in senior positions also increased and three women currently occupy ministerial posts. There are 142 female judges comprising 15 per cent of the total in the country. The amended Municipalities Law of 2011 raised the quota allocated to women to 25 per cent of the members of municipal councils. In order to empower women economically and achieve equality in the workplace the Government reviewed and amended a range of economic legislation related to women, including the Social Security Law and also implemented laws obliging larger employers to provide childcare. 4