A/HRC/16/78 at empowering women in all fields, including educational, economic, and political sectors, while the National Action Plan focuses on the participation, protection and promotion of women in all areas pertaining to peace and security. Discussions are already underway between HRCSL, civil society and the Ministry of Justice to develop a national human rights plan of action. 5. However, the report submitted by the Constitutional Reform Commission in 2008 has not received any attention by the Government, and no progress has been made with the review of the Constitution, one of the key recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. III. Equality and non-discrimination 6. Some provisions of the Constitution affecting women, including Section 27(4)(d) and (e), have encouraged discriminatory practices with respect to adoption, marriage, divorce, burial, devolution of property on death, and other personal law issues, thus limiting the general principle of non-discrimination, and compromising the implementation of the three “gender” laws enacted in 2007, which have attempted to promote equal rights in areas of property, adoption, marriage and divorce. 7. Similarly, members of the Lebanese and other Caucasian communities born in Sierra Leone continue to raise serious concerns about the denial of Sierra Leonean citizenship to them as Section 2(b) of the Sierra Leone Citizenship Act (1973) states that only persons whose father is “of Negro African descent” can qualify for Sierra Leone citizenship by birth or naturalization. Sierra Leone has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. 8. Though Sierra Leone has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, disabled persons have also been the target of inequality and discrimination. This is further compounded by social stereotyping, as they are mostly regarded as beggars and people deserving favours, and not as holders of the right to equal access to social services. In an effort to address this situation, a Disability Bill, currently in the final stages of enactment by parliament, provides for fundamental improvements in relation to the welfare of disabled persons, including free access to education, health care and criminalization of discriminatory practices against disabled persons. 9. Women constitute 51 per cent of the population, but are underrepresented in the Government (two Cabinet Ministers and four deputies). Out of a total of 124 members, only 17 women sit in Parliament, which is below the 30 per cent quota recommended by the TRC. Traditional practices further compound this situation by forbidding women from holding traditional Paramount Chieftaincy positions in the entire Northern Province and in the Kono district in the east. However, in December 2010, a female candidate participated for the first time in the election to a Paramount Chieftaincy after the High Court ruled that her candidature should be admitted. On another positive note, the by-election for the District Council Chair in Kono was won by a female contestant, who became the first and only female District Council Chairperson in the country. A. 1. Civil and political rights Right to life and physical integrity 10. Sierra Leone has maintained a de facto moratorium on the death penalty for the last 10 years. However, the moratorium has only put a stay on executions and not disallowed the pronouncement of death sentences, despite the TRC’s recommendation to expunge the 4