A/HRC/30/13 and on 21 October 1986 entered into the Compact of Free Association with the United States. An amended version of the Compact was signed in 2003. 8. The Marshall Islands stated that it had made important strides since its first universal periodic review in 2010. In addition to being party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, it was now party to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Prior to accession to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, consultations had taken place to develop the National Policy on Disability Inclusive Development, which was approved by the “Nitijela” (Parliament) in late 2014. The Policy was developed in line with the Convention, the Pacific Regional Strategy on Disability and the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. Subsequent to acceding to the Convention, the Marshall Islands drafted a bill on the rights of persons with disabilities, which was before the Nitijela. The country received technical assistance from the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the Pacific Disability Forum throughout the entire process. 9. With respect to the other core human rights treaties and existing optional protocols, the Cabinet had approved the accession of the Marshall Islands to those treaties and optional protocols subject to constitutional processes. Given its limited resources, the country had to be careful not only to accede to those important treaties and protocols, but also to apply them to domestic law in order to ensure proper implementation. 10. The Marshall Islands reported that the Nitijela had enacted a number of laws that supported the Bill of Rights and criminalized any violations thereof, particularly the Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Act 2011, an updated Criminal Code 2011 and the Marshall Islands Public School System Act 2013. Also before the Nitijela, in addition to the bill on the rights of persons with disabilities, were two bills, one on child protection and the other on the human rights commission. The latter would codify the Resource Development Committee and its monitoring and implementation responsibilities with respect to human rights. 11. Furthermore, and in addition to the National Policy on Disability Inclusive Development, the Marshall Islands stressed that it had developed the National Strategic Plan, with technical assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Plan covered the period from 2015 to 2017 and would continually be updated in threeyear increments so as to meet longer-term objectives which would be achieved in five sectors: social development; the environment, climate change and resiliency; infrastructure development; sustainable economic development; and good governance. 12. The Marshall Islands added that the Cabinet had recently adopted a number of important gender-inclusive national policies, including the Gender Equality Policy, the aforementioned National Strategic Plan, the National Climate Change Policy Framework and the National Energy Policy. They all incorporated goals and outcomes for gender equality and the advancement of women, and called for the development of gendersensitive strategies for climate change responses and the advancement of women in decision-making and economic empowerment. 13. Regarding violence against women, the Marshall Islands indicated that the Nitijela had passed the Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Act 2011 after several years of work by several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Women United Together Marshall Islands. The Domestic Violence Prevention and Protection Task Force was established in 2012, as an attachment to the Secretary of Internal Affairs, to ensure the law was implemented, make recommendations, pool resources and lobby for the Nitijela to provide financial support from the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ recurrent budget. To further 4