A/HRC/16/5 Committee on the National Action Programme had been established to coordinate the dayto-day implementation of the Programme. 8. The national report had been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers and had been prepared by a working group established by a decree of the Prime Minister. The Working Group had held numerous consultations with the National Human Rights Commission, relevant experts and non-governmental organizations. In addition, a tripartite consultative process comprising the Government, the United Nations Development Programme and civil society organizations had taken place in February 2010. 9. Mongolia, while providing specific protection of civil and political rights, was also committed to promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights. The Government’s actions were also focused on the rights of persons with disabilities and of citizens with monthly incomes lower than the national average. In addition, protecting the rights of national minorities was a priority of Government action, as it implemented nondiscriminatory policies and legislation concerning the rights of national minorities. 10. The Law on the National Human Rights Commission had been adopted on 7 December 2000 by Parliament, and the independent Commission had begun its activities in February 2001. 11. While Mongolia had maintained capital punishment de jure, the President had declared a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in January 2010 and had indicated that the moratorium should constitute the first step towards its abolition. Accession to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was being considered in Parliament. 12. The Government had focused on protecting women’s and children’s rights by putting in place necessary national programmes. In 2010, the Government had signed the Agreement on Cooperation to Combat Trafficking in Persons with the Macao Special Administrative Region, anticipating that the agreement would lead to more efficient bilateral cooperation aimed at facilitating better prevention of human trafficking, as well as stronger protection and the smoother return and reintegration of trafficking victims. 13. Owing to global warming and climate change, the following factors had deteriorated living conditions: the glaciers were receding, surface water was drying up, vegetation was decreasing, water was becoming more mineralized, soil erosion was increasing, and desertification was spreading. In 2010, a new National Programme to Combat Desertification and a water programme had been approved. Natural disasters such as dzud disasters, blizzards and storms had also affected the right of herding households to a healthy and safe environment. In that context, in 2009 the Parliament had adopted the State Policy on Herders to improve herders’ living conditions and promote their right to a healthy and safe environment. 14. Health-care services were provided to all citizens, without any discrimination. The Government had approved the Action Plan for 2008–2012, which set the objectives for improvements in health care, and a private insurance system had been introduced. 15. Mongolia’s Millennium Development Goals, which had been approved by Parliament in 2005, included fundamental gender equality objectives, such as eliminating gender disparity at all levels of education, increasing by up to 50 per cent the number of women in wage employment in non-agricultural sectors, and expanding by up to 30 percent the number of women in the national Parliament no later than 2015. The participation of women in the decision-making process was still insufficient. Although the number of female candidates was steadily increasing, their number in Parliament was actually dropping. Mongolia’s view was that the percentage of women candidates should be 4