A/HRC/44/51/Add.1 C. Institutional framework 1. General Secretariat for Gender Equality 14. The General Secretariat for Gender Equality, within the Ministry of the Interior, is a governmental body dedicated to gender equality with the broad mandate of designing, implementing and monitoring the implementation of gender equality policies in all areas. It runs an Observatory on Gender Equality Issues, providing a publicly available online platform which tracks and analyses statistical data from various sources on a broad range of policy areas. The Observatory is a useful tool for identifying progress or regression, thereby providing a basis for advocacy and policymaking. A challenge for the General Secretariat is its inadequate human and financial resources, which limits its influence and capacity to achieve its full potential. 2. Office of the Ombudsman 15. There is no dedicated independent national institution for monitoring and eliminating discrimination against women. Gender equality is included in the mandate of the Office of the Ombudsman, a national body with a dedicated department for equal treatment, which includes gender equality among several other grounds, including discrimination on the basis of national-ethnic origin, disability and age. 15 The Office monitors discrimination mostly in the field of employment, in both the public and the private sectors. Complaints on gender-based discrimination have increased, from 40 per cent in 2017 to 57 per cent in 2018, and represent the largest number of all complaints by far handled by the Office. It has limited jurisprudence on discrimination against women. The Working Group is of the view that the Ombudsman should be able to seek leave to act as amicus curiae to provide an expert opinion on discrimination cases. The Office is working on ways to increase its visibility and raise awareness among the general public. Further investment in outreach is essential in order to ensure effective access to that crucial complaint mechanism for the most marginalized women. 3. National Commission for Human Rights 16. The National Commission for Human Rights, a consultative and advisory body to the State, is an important independent voice on human rights, accredited with A status. The Commission does not have a dedicated focus on monitoring and eliminating discrimination against women embedded within its structure but addresses the issue in a cross-cutting manner in various areas of its work. As an independent national human rights institution, the Commission has a critical role in the monitoring of women’s rights and must be adequately resourced and able to function independently and effectively. 4. General Secretariat for Transparency and Human Rights 17. The General Secretariat for Transparency and Human Rights of the Ministry of Justice was established by Presidential Decree No. 94/2010. The General Secretariat is responsible for, among other things, the consolidation and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, by undertaking all necessary related initiatives, including ensuring compliance with the international obligations of Greece. Within that framework, the General Secretariat designs, elaborates and outlines policy priorities and plans of action to ensure the effective exercise of human rights, undertakes the relevant legislative, regulatory and administrative initiatives and monitors their implementation. 5. Special Secretariat for Roma Social Inclusion 18. The Special Secretariat for Roma Social Inclusion of the Ministry of Labour was established by Law No. 4430/2016 and is mandated to determine priorities and design guidelines for all policy areas related to the social integration of Roma people. That includes the submission of relevant proposals to the Ministry of Labour and cooperation with other competent ministries, including on health and education at the national, regional 15 6 See Ombudsman of Greece, “Equal treatment” report series. Available at www.synigoros.gr/?i=equality.en.recentinterentions.588550.