A/HRC/4/104 page 20 and cadres of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and has been intervening in cases where victims or human rights defenders have been threatened. It has been working with local NGOs to develop a network of response mechanisms for victims. OHCHR has advocated for increased representation of women at all levels, including in the peace process. It has commented on the draft interim constitution and has raised the issue of gender representation in a range of meetings with various stakeholders. OHCHR participates in various workshops with women’s organizations and is working closely with the Blue Diamond Society on the rights of sexual minorities. Gender perspectives are also integrated in training given by OHCHR; participants include the National Human Rights Commission, NGOs, government agencies, security agencies, as well as the National Monitoring Committee on a Code of Conduct for Ceasefire. OHCHR liaises with other United Nations agencies working on trafficking and is paying attention to the issue of female migrant workers, who are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses. It participated in two conferences in Indonesia in July 2006 on the human rights of women migrant workers. 49. In Sudan, the Human Rights Office of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS HR) is working closely with government officials and civil society organizations to promote women’s rights. Besides creating awareness through training activities, UNMIS HR is also fostering the debate on reforming legal provisions concerning rape and other crimes of sexual violence within Sudanese laws, in particular the Criminal and Evidence Acts. Additionally, sexual and gender-based violence are among the main monitoring areas of the Office. In Darfur, UNMIS HR has been supporting and actively participating in the efforts of the State Committees on Combating Gender-based Violence. The South Darfur State Committee has been the most active among the three committees established and has received a grant from UNMIS HR to strengthen the Committee and enable it to more effectively implement activities identified in its six-month work plan. V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 50. Gender equality and women’s human rights issues have been addressed by all treaty bodies and a great majority of the special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights. These mechanisms have provided States with numerous recommendations aiming to ensure equality and non-discrimination, and to protect and promote women’s civil, cultural, economic, political and social human rights. These recommendations should be implemented expeditiously with a view to improving the status of women worldwide. States should further undertake to reach the goal of universal ratification of human rights treaties, should make efforts to remove reservations to treaties, and should reinforce actions to implement treaty commitments. At the national level, policies, laws, institutions and procedures to protect and promote women’s human rights need to be instituted, or strengthened, to protect and empower women. The scourge of discrimination and gender-based violence both in times of peace and during conflict must be eradicated without delay, and women and girls provided with opportunities to live their lives in dignity and security, and to enjoy all of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. -----