A/HRC/31/13 62. The President had issued an order to form a committee to monitor political prisoners in 2013. The committee submitted to the President its recommendations for granting amnesty and pardon. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, members of the national human rights commission and Supreme Court judges had visited prisoners. The International Committee of the Red Cross had helped upgrade the water, sanitation and health services for prisoners. The commission had investigated complaints regarding torture of political prisoners and found that they were not true. 63. The 2012 law amending the ward and village tract administration law criminalized and penalized forced labour, imposing one year of imprisonment or a 100,000 kyat fine or both on perpetrators. The forced labour complaint mechanism set up in 2007 with the International Labour Organization (ILO) was functioning smoothly. 64. The State’s ratification of the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) had greatly contributed to the protection of child rights. Myanmar would explore joining other important ILO instruments pertaining to child rights, including the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138). 65. Since the adoption of the labour organization law of 2011, 1,914 employer and labour organizations had been formed. The Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar had been formed in July 2015 as the country’s first national-level labour organization. Furthermore, in accordance with the settlement of labour dispute law of 2012, tripartite mechanisms had been formed at the township, region and State levels. 66. Myanmar had become a member of the International Organization for Migration in 2012 and was working for the promotion and protection of the rights of its migrant workers. In 2013, complaint mechanism centres had been opened in major cities to address the needs of migrant workers. Moreover, a migrant workers’ reporting counter had been opened at Yangon International Airport to facilitate access to overseas employment. 67. Regarding participation of women in political life, a considerable number of women were occupying posts at the levels of minister, deputy minister, director general and ambassador and parliamentarian posts, and the number was growing. 68. During the first cycle, Myanmar had received nine recommendations on ratifying core international human rights treaties. In implementing those recommendations, Myanmar had acceded to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. In 2015, Myanmar had signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Furthermore, in October 2015, Myanmar had decided to become a member of the Group of Friends under the Convention against Torture Initiative, which aimed to achieve universal ratification of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by 2024. 69. In principle, Myanmar rejected country-specific mandates, including that of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, as they did not create a conducive environment for constructive engagement for the promotion and protection of human rights. Myanmar firmly believed that the universal periodic review process was the most dependable mechanism to address human rights situations in all countries on an equal footing. 70. However, Myanmar had invited and received the Special Rapporteur for a five-day visit in August 2015, which was successful. Myanmar had encouraged her to further diversify her sources of information to prevent the inclusion of allegations and speculation in her report. All major concerns related to human rights had been addressed to a larger 7