A/HRC/4/96 page 8 14. UNICEF has provided assistance to children in a number of areas, including legal services through local organizations and addressing the needs of juveniles in some detention facilities. There are only two remand homes and one approved school nationwide for juveniles in conflict with the law. These institutions remain inadequately supported in terms of food, medical care, logistics and supplies, and do not respect minimum requirements. There are still no remand homes in the Eastern and Northern provinces and as a result, children are held in police stations or detained in prisons until they are transferred to Bo or Freetown. There is a need for a more coordinated approach by the relevant Ministries and responsible government institutions, including the police and prison authorities, the Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Justice. D. Women’s rights 15. Through consistent advocacy, support and intervention by the United Nations, international partners and civil society groups, significant progress has been made in including women’s issues on the national agenda. However, very little has been achieved in terms of actual implementation due to a number of factors including (a) lack of political will; (b) existence of entrenched cultural and traditional practices; (c) lack of robust and vibrant women’s groups. However, one area where significant progress has been noted was the submission by the Government of its combined first and fifth periodic reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women with the support of UNIFEM and UNIOSIL. The Government has yet to incorporate the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) into its national legislation, although a number of nationwide awareness-raising activities were conducted by the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights. 16. To facilitate the implementation of certain provisions of CEDAW, the Law Reform Commission, jointly with the Parliamentary Committee on Human rights, drafted three bills: (a) the Domestic violence Act (2006); (b) the Registration of Customary Marriages Act (2006); and (c) the Devolution of Property Act (2006). These bills are still with the Ministry of Justice and have yet to be transmitted to the Parliament. Addressing the issues of gender equity and empowerment of women is crucial to the consolidation of peace and the Government of Sierra Leone has to take steps to ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa and to enact the three draft bills mentioned above, which are consistent with the recommendation of the TRC. 17. Another key challenge to women’s basic security and the consolidation of peace is the widespread and continuous violence against women, especially in rural areas. Cases of domestic violence, rape and female genital mutilation were reported on a daily basis during the reporting period, and very few of those were followed with investigations and redress, a clear indication that the rule of law and the enforcement mechanisms in place are not functioning. 18. There has been no appreciable reduction in the reported incidence of rape, although some attempts have been made to routinely investigate charges and to prosecute perpetrators. Those found guilty have been in some cases sentenced to long prison terms; however, in some others the perpetrators have not been brought to justice and in fact benefited from their crime. For