A/HRC/41/47 significant part of the responses did not provide information on the topic, except for references to constitutional provisions and general laws that guarantee the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Challenges in protecting women affected by leprosy 87. The responses from Governments, civil society organizations and national human rights institutions allow for establishing a complete lack of specific plans to address the needs of women affected by leprosy, as well as discrimination and violence against them. Some responses provided information on legal frames for promoting gender equality and eliminating gender-based discrimination (constitutional provisions, ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, laws to eliminate gender-based violence and general anti-discrimination laws) in countries such as Bolivia, Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Georgia and India. Others referred to education and empowerment programmes aimed at disadvantaged women in countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. Challenges in protecting children affected by leprosy 88. A substantial part of the responses from Governments, civil society organizations and national human rights institutions did not provide information about measures in place to ensure the rights of children affected by leprosy, or about the overall framework for the protection and care of children. However, some examples of generic laws, programmes and initiatives designed for the protection and care of children (especially with regard to the rights to health, education and information) were referred to as being in place in Bolivia, Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador and Ethiopia. The responses also provided examples of measures specifically related to leprosy, such as educational materials being distributed and leprosy-related projects being implemented in schools in Paraguay; awareness-raising activities among schoolteachers and students, preventive care focused on zero disability in children affected by leprosy and family counselling in Bangladesh; and priority access to health care among vulnerable children in Colombia. There was no mention of measures adopted for enforcing the rights of the children of persons affected by leprosy, except for the reference to an ongoing lawsuit in Japan aimed at reparation for past State offences. 3. Good practices for the elimination of discrimination 89. The majority of good practices developed by States fall within the health sector, namely delivery of care and awareness-raising activities. At the international level, Japan mentioned action undertaken to ensure the inclusion of leprosy in the human rights agenda at both the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly. At the national and subnational levels, responses pointed mainly to awareness-raising activities, campaigns and actions for improving health-care services (separated into new case detection, early diagnosis, quality treatment and rehabilitation), alongside the health worker’s expertise, to provide care for persons affected by leprosy. Such activities are driven by health programmes in countries such as Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador and Paraguay. Schools as priority places for awareness-raising were referred to in countries such as Brazil, India and Japan. Also with regard to awareness-raising activities, examples of decentralized actions within States that bring together different stakeholders (traditional and religious leaders, politicians, teachers, care providers, etc.) were mentioned in countries such as Brazil and Burundi. Finally, in respect of the autonomous development of the persons affected by leprosy, responses highlighted the role played by civil society organizations in community-based rehabilitation; formation of associative, self-help and self-care groups of persons affected by leprosy (with positive examples of successful advocacy led by such groups); as well as the participation of family members in health services, income generation and education opportunities (with a focus on women) in countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Pakistan. 16