A/HRC/13/26 the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and supported capacity-building among indigenous peoples such as through a fellowship programme and a voluntary fund. 18. OHCHR has supported activities to enhance the visibility and impact of the Minorities Declaration and other key standards. Its minority fellowship programme contributed to the development of advocacy skills of minority representatives, who subsequently launched concrete initiatives advancing minority rights at the local level. Support for the Forum on Minority Issues continued, which highlighted political participation at its second session. OHCHR further developed its work on policing and minority communities including through a subregional consultation held in Johannesburg in October 2009 to collect good practices in this area. C. Gender equality and women’s rights 19. The move to create a consolidated United Nations gender entity, the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption by the General Assembly of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the reiteration by the Security Council that rape and other forms of sexual violence against women in conflict are a threat against international peace and security, have created increased momentum for action with respect to women’s rights. With the upcoming review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action, OHCHR will build on its previous work and step up its efforts towards the promotion and protection of women’s rights. 20. OHCHR has facilitated the integration of women’s rights and a gender perspective into the work of the Human Rights Council, and it is significant that maternal mortality and equality before the law will be subject to in-depth consideration by the Human Rights Council during its fourteenth and fifteenth sessions. Support has been provided to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to assist in its task of examining the implementation of the Convention, and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, and other special procedures. OHCHR has continued to be active in inter-agency initiatives such as the United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict and an inter-agency sub-working group establishing the team of experts called for in Security Council resolution 1888 (2009) relating to rape and other forms of sexual violence as a weapon of war. 21. During 2009, gender advisers were recruited to four OHCHR regional offices (Fiji, Lebanon, Panama and Senegal), in order to respond better to Government requests for guidance on the integration of a gender dimension into national policies and programmes. D. Combating impunity and the prevention of genocide 22. The rule of law forms the foundation of legal protection of human rights and combating impunity, and during 2009, OHCHR continued to play a lead role within the United Nations system to combat impunity, strengthen accountability and to establish and entrench conditions for democracy and the rule of law. Support was provided to the independent international fact-finding missions concerning Gaza and Guinea, and OHCHR continued to engage with Governments and other national actors to promote principles of accountability and rule of law, to provide examples of best practice and technical advice and assistance. Briefings to the Security Council were provided, at its request, during the Security Council’s debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, its consultations on the application of humanitarian law in conflict situations, during its retreat on protection issues, and the meetings of its Counter-Terrorism Committee. GE.09-17604 7