A/HRC/16/4 22. Under the Police Act, adopted in 2009, a new legal framework had been established for the operations of the Police Service. The Act provided for the establishment of the Office of the Independent Complaints Commission to investigate complaints involving brutality, death or misconduct at the hands of the police. It also provided for the creation of a Lay Visitors Scheme, mandated to inspect conditions of detention at police stations. 23. Malawi stated that in 1998 it had set up the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which was an independent institution mandated to investigate and prosecute all matters related to corruption. There had been several cases in which prominent personalities had been prosecuted for corruption. 24. Regarding the right to education, Malawi indicated that it introduced free primary education. Since 1994, there had been a steady rise in the number of children enrolled in primary schools. 25. Private schools and other private institutions of higher learning were permissible, provided that such schools or institutions were registered and complied with the legal requirements relating to the education sector. 26. University education was heavily subsidized by the Government. Thus, it had extended equitable access to tertiary-level education, which had previously been implemented only at the secondary level. Malawi further stated that affirmative action was being implemented in favour of women and the less privileged. 27. The right to health was being implemented through the Essential Health Package, which addressed major causes of morbidity and mortality, which disproportionately affected the poor and the most vulnerable groups. The right to health was one of the main priority areas addressed in Vision 2020, and Malawi was currently implementing a policy of free health care. 28. Priority areas in the field of health included reducing the number of maternal deaths and improving reproductive health services. 29. A remaining challenge was to ensure that both medical personnel and patients were fully aware of their rights and obligations. 30. The Constitution provided that every person had the right to fair and safe labour practices and remuneration. The Ministry of Labour was charged with the responsibility of ensuring social justice, peace and skills assessment as prerequisites for poverty reduction and economic growth. 31. Malawi indicated that it had introduced several policies and measures aimed at protecting orphaned children. It had instituted the Ministry of Gender, Children and Community Development. The Ministry strengthened the capacity of families and communities to provide support, care and protection to vulnerable children, the aged, marginalized families and those affected by HIV/AIDS. 32. The Government had also included human rights in the primary school curriculum, and this would soon be extended to the secondary school level. Malawi indicated that, despite all these efforts, numerous challenges remained, although lessons continued to be learned. For example, the Children and Young Persons Act, which had been considered by the Law Commission to be obsolete, had been replaced by the Child Care, Protection and Justice Act 2010, which consolidated the law relating to children and established child justice courts. 33. The Constitution provided that women had the right to full and equal protection by the law and the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of their gender and marital status. The Government had put in place a policy to increase the number of women in positions of power and influence. 5