A/HRC/10/77 Page 8 vote from the municipality of the applicant’s residence, the Committee indicated that the latter requirement is not based on objective criteria and could be discriminatory. France asked whether Liechtenstein intends to introduce flexibility in the legislation to facilitate access to citizenship. In relation to the indication by the Committee on the Rights of the Child that fathers of children born out of wedlock are not able to seek custody of their children, which is automatically given to mothers, France asked whether national legislation could, in the medium term, grant fathers the opportunity to seek custody of their children born out of wedlock. France also referred to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which indicated that all forms of corporal punishment were not explicitly banned in all places, particularly within the family, and recommended that Liechtenstein prohibit by law all forms of corporal punishment for children, without exception. While welcoming the Government’s decision to establish an ombudsman for children, France recommended that Liechtenstein consider establishing an independent mechanism mandated to consider complaints of child rights violations as soon as possible. France also asked whether the Government plans to become a member of the International Labour Organization (ILO). 28. Germany noted the concern of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women about the persistence of traditional attitudes and stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in family and society. The Committee recommended in particular the extension of the present legislation regarding gender-based discrimination in the workplace, as included in the Gender Equality Act, to all spheres of life. Germany enquired how Liechtenstein intends to follow up on this recommendation. 29. Sweden, while acknowledging that the human rights situation in the country is generally very good, raised the issue of gender equality. Noting that, despite measures taken, women are unrepresented in Parliament and in Government, Sweden recommended that Liechtenstein continue exploring new policy measures to promote gender equality and to achieve gender balance in political bodies. 30. Monaco noted that the national report gives some indications of the proactive ODA policy of Liechtenstein, and asked how it intends to further associate civil society and nongovernmental organizations with it. 31. Italy, bearing in mind the State’s outstanding record with respect to the rights of the child, recommended that Liechtenstein ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, which it signed in 2000. Recalling the recommendations by the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner that Liechtenstein address the situation of foreign spouses who are victims of domestic violence and wish to continue residing in the country after separation from their partners, Italy enquired whether Liechtenstein has taken any measures to follow up on this recommendation, in particular by allowing resident permits of foreign spouses to be independent of marital relationship. 32. Argentina, while underlining the continuous progress achieved in the field of gender equality, noted that certain problems remain in the area of de facto equality. Despite the adoption of the 1999 Gender Equality Act, which Argentina noted as a positive step, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women stressed the persistence of certain stereotypical attitudes relating to the roles and responsibilities of men and women in the family and society at large, and urged Liechtenstein to implement a comprehensive policy to overcome these stereotypes in the public and private spheres. Argentina enquired about policies that the State is implementing or plans to implement in this respect. Argentina recommended that Liechtenstein