A/HRC/WG.6/1/ARG/4 page 5 and programmes, such as the Plan “Get to Work” (Manos a la Obra), the Families Plan (“Plan Familias”) the National Food Security Plan (“Plan Nacional de Seguridad Alimentaria”) with the aim of improving the situation of excluded families. 10. In response to written questions, Argentina noted that it based its National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights on a recommendation of the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights. It further noted that the Action Plan has been supported by the Office of the Secretary of Human Rights, UNDP, and with the support of the OHCHR and all the United Nations agencies based in Argentina. As regards the National Plan to Combat Discrimination, Argentina announced that it had been validated by a national decree two years ago and noted that it contains a body of diagnosis and recommendations. Argentina further noted the establishment several years ago of the INADI - the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism - now within the framework of the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights, which inter alia promotes inter-religious dialogue. 11. Argentina underlined the fact that it was the first country of the region to ratify the CAT-OP and noted that it has started the process of drafting a bill. Argentina noted that it faced two problems: first, the requirement of the preventive mechanism’s total independence, which should be established within the Congress of the Nation in the orbit of the legislative power; second, the need to address the structure of a federal State in which provinces retain all the powers not delegated explicitly to the federal State (i.e. they organize their own prison system and apply their own judicial procedures). At the same time, there is existing machinery that should be maintained, for example the Committee against Torture of the Provincial Commission for Memory in Buenos Aires, which visits jails without prior indication or notice and interviews detainees. 12. As regards conditions in detention, it was noted that the Public Ministry for Defence provides constant monitoring, that the Prison Commission emits directives and that a civil official in charge of prisons had been appointed by the national Government. Argentina further noted that the Province of Buenos Aires sanctioned a law in March 2006 which established standards for the adequate application of international standards. The provincial Supreme Court of Buenos Aires also created in December 2007 the “Area of Human Rights” for persons deprived of liberty, with the rank of Sub-Secretary, so as to monitor detention conditions in prisons and police centres (Comisarias) and to make proposals and recommendations. 13. With regard to the appointment of judges, it was noted that the national Government has established specific measures since the Supreme Court of Justice in May 2007 deemed unconstitutional the existing system and encouraged the national Government to bring a normalized system. The Council has provided a competition to fill vacancies through a legal process. 14. Argentina noted that there are four protection programmes for witnesses of crimes at the national level and various at the provincial level. Argentina noted that the National Programme for Protection of Witnesses was established in April 2007 by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights and that a similar programme also existed at the provincial level. 15. As regards the trafficking of persons, the Congress adopted in April 2008 the law on the prevention and punishment of trafficking of persons, the purpose of which is to implement measures designed to prevent and punish trafficking and to assist and protect victims. In January 2005, in the Office of the Secretary for Human Rights, a special unit for the eradication of sexual exploitation of children had been set up. A National Prevention Programme for the