A/HRC/38/17 displaced persons. Foreigners who were employed according to that law had equal rights and obligations in terms of work, employment and self-employment to those of citizens, if the conditions prescribed by the law were met. 18. The Government had adopted a bill on asylum and temporary protection. It had also adopted the National Strategy for Resolving the Issues of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons for the period 2015–2020 to tackle the problem of protracted internal displacement. It was implementing the Regional Housing Programme to address the issue of refugees from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. 19. Serbia was endeavouring to encourage tolerance and intercultural dialogue and to take action to promote mutual respect, understanding and cooperation among all residents, regardless of their national, cultural, linguistic or religious identity. The Constitution stipulated that persons from national minorities could elect national representative councils, which had an advisory role in State bodies. During the 2010 and 2014 electoral cycles, members of the councils of national minorities had been directly elected, making Serbia one of few countries to provide national minorities with the means to elect their representatives. Furthermore, the Action Plan for the Realization of the Rights of National Minorities had been drawn up as a mechanism to ensure the full implementation of the legislative framework and to measure progress in the realization of the rights of national minorities. 20. The adoption of the Strategy for the Social Inclusion of Roma Men and Women 2016–2025 ensured continued provision of a better quality of life for citizens of Roma origin. Given that the Roma experienced more difficulties in finding employment than other sectors of society, active employment policy measures had been put in place for them, along with self-employment incentive programmes and employment subsidies for private sector employers. In the field of housing, records of the number and location of informal Roma settlements in Serbia had been established for the first time, thus allowing for the planned allocation of funds to address the relevant issues. 21. The Government had adopted the National Strategy for Gender Equality 2016–2020 with the accompanying action plan. The National Action Plan for the Implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 had been adopted in May 2017. The Government had formed the Gender Equality Coordination Body in 2014. 22. Serbia had ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention) in October 2013. The Serbian Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code and the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence had been adopted in November 2016 to ensure alignment with that convention. The Government had established the Council for the Suppression of Domestic Violence to monitor implementation of the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and to eliminate shortcomings that arose in practice. 23. The Government had started working on amendments to regulations that would explicitly prohibit the corporal punishment of children and further improve the provisions of the existing Family Law. 24. Regarding persons with disabilities, the anti-discrimination laws had been supplemented in March 2015 by the Law on the Use of Sign Language and the Law on the Movement of Blind People with the Assistance of Guide Dogs. 25. In accordance with European Union goals for 2022, the National Strategy on Ageing had been introduced into development plans. 26. Since 2014, pride events had been held to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, and the police presence at such events had been gradually reduced. 27. Over 2,000 criminal charges had been brought against persons involved in human smuggling and trafficking. The National Strategy for the Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Humans, especially Women and Children, and the Protection of Victims for the period 2017–2022 had been adopted along with the accompanying action plan. A government working group had been set up to implement and monitor the strategy. The 4