A/HRC/42/47/Add.6 partners and relevant ministries and agencies, including UNICEF in Tajikistan. Additionally, the Government established an interdepartmental working group called Water and Gender in the Committee on Women and Family Affairs in order to raise awareness regarding water use by women and girls. The Working Group organizes seminars, conferences and promotes the role of women and girls in the management, use and protection of water resources. Furthermore, it noted that, in the period 2016 – 2018, the Committee on Women and Family Affairs, the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, the International Water Secretariat, the non-governmental organization Oxfam, Great Britain, and the Aga Khan Foundation held several seminars, conferences, round tables and training programs in Dushanbe and in various regions of the country, where special attention was paid to the role of women and girls in solving problems in the drinking water sector. 52. The efforts made by the Government to promote greater provision of water and sanitation services in institutional facilities are promising and highlight that the Government recognizes the urgent need of improving access in these places. The Special Rapporteur also welcomes its efforts on raising awareness of menstrual hygiene management. The progress in improving access in schools and health institutions, however, seems slow, particularly in light of the necessity of achieving this to satisfy Sustainable Development Goals 6.1 and 6.2 by the year 2030. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to develop more concrete plans to improve access in schools and health facilities and implement them as a matter of priority. PROGRESS ON-GOING: Whilst excellent progress has been made regarding the promotion of water and sanitation in institutional facilities, and with regards to menstrual hygiene, the Special Rapporteur looks forward to seeing similar progress in relation to access in schools and health facilities. He recommends the Government increase its efforts in this regard so as to ensure it achieves its vital SDG commitments by 2030. V. Access to information, accountability and justice 53. Access to information, accountability and access to justice are central for the progressive realization of the human rights to water and sanitation and all the other rights, and are mutually reinforcing. The right to information includes the right to receive information to make informed decisions regarding the human rights to water and sanitation. Independent civil society plays a critical role in all these principles and in the protection of human rights. A. Recommendation on the right to information and accountability RECOMMENDATION 13: “Protect the right to information and strengthen the accountability mechanism, including through strengthening the power of the Ombudsman, as well as respecting the activities of civil society.” (A/HRC/33/49/Add.2, para. 59(k)) 54. The country visit report of the Special Rapporteur identified the difficulties faced by people in Tajikistan in obtaining information about water and sanitation services, particularly regarding tariffs. The absence of adequate information sharing creates a lack of transparency which hinders the ability of people to obtain accountability for breaches of their rights. This reality is exacerbated by the lack of a satisfactory framework for accountability in Tajikistan, including the absence of an independent regulator tasked with overseeing the operations of water and sanitation providers, and the inadequacy of the role played by the Human Rights Ombudsman. Furthermore, whilst in many states civil society can play a vital role in ensuring access to information and accountability, through fear of reprisals by the Government against them, many civil society organisations self-censure, whilst legislative amendments threaten to further weaken the efficacy of their operations (A/HRC/33/49/Add.2, paras. 38-42). 14