A/HRC/18/14 16. Concerning child street vendors and child labour, Samoa referred to its National Policy for Children 2010-2015, aimed at strengthening institutional mechanisms to enhance child protection programmes and services. Samoa noted that keeping child vendors off the streets remained a challenge. The pilot survey on child vendors conducted in 2006 noted that the existence of child vendors was due largely to issues of hardship and poverty. The implementation of the National Policy for Children, the National Policy for Women 20102015 and the Community Sector Plan focusing on poverty alleviation would help to address this issue. 17. In addition, and in line with the Strategy for the Development of Samoa for 20102012, the provision of an enabling environment conducive to the creation of incomegeneration activities to support family and community livelihoods was a priority for Samoa. Furthermore, several ongoing and proposed poverty alleviation programmes for employment and income generation were in place. The Samoa School Fee Grant Scheme would provide free education for all children for the full eight years of primary school. 18. Concerning changes to the electoral system, Samoa explained that the nomination of a single candidate by a district signified the unanimity of a decision by the whole district and the confidence of district members in the one candidate who they felt best represented their interests in Parliament. Such village decisions involved a lengthy process of dialogue and consultation that might take months before a collective decision was made. Samoa considered that the nomination of one person was a form of democracy that demonstrated stability in village politics. 19. Samoa mentioned that it worked closely with its development partners and intergovernmental organizations in order to address its human rights challenges and help achieve its developmental challenges. Samoa thanked the Government of New Zealand, OHCHR, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community for the training and the financial and technical assistance it had received to assist with putting together its national report and enabling the participation of Samoa in the UPR. 20. Samoa indicated that increasing the participation of women in public life and decision-making was one of the priority areas of the National Policy for Women. Awareness, capacity-building and training activities for women had also been conducted to enable women to take on leadership roles. A new initiative facilitated by the Ministry of Health, entitled Women in Leadership Advocacy, provided a forum to bring together women in leadership positions in the public sector to share experiences and lessons learned as a way to support each other as they pursued their leadership roles in Government. Samoa believed that contesting Parliament seats by women and men candidates alike must enjoy the nationwide decision-making process that was vested in a democratic general election. 21. While Samoa had not yet signed other international human rights conventions, many rights had been advanced and mainstreamed into Government policies and plans. Samoa would continue to actively assess the remaining conventions relative to its capacity to meet the financial, administrative, legislative and institutional obligations, to ensure that Samoa was able to deliver upon becoming a State party to those conventions. 22. Samoa noted the gaps and weaknesses in its legislative framework on upholding equality and non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, and that relevant legislation was being reviewed by the Samoa Law Reform Commission. Samoa indicated that Fa’afafine, gays and lesbians were integral members of Samoan society and were heirs to family chiefly titles and lands through extended family consensus, as all men and women of its society were. However, sexual orientation was a sensitive issue in Samoa given the religious and cultural beliefs of mainstream society. Nonetheless, Samoa was confident that 5