A/HRC/41/42/Add.2 dependence of women on their husbands and in-laws is also a significant factor preventing women from seeking justice, as are geographical and linguistic constraints. Preventive measures and measures to ensure the compensation, rehabilitation and protection of victims are also weak, while the low level of implementation of court judgments, including judgments to grant compensation, is an additional issue of concern. 3. National action plan 20. A national strategy and action plan on gender empowerment and ending genderbased violence was implemented from 2013 to 2018, while a strategy and workplan on ending sexual and gender-based violence and gender empowerment were implemented from 2012 to 2017. On 24 August 2018, the House of Representatives passed a four-point resolution on ending violence against women and girls, and a high-level mechanism for ensuring its implementation has been formed. 2 At the time of the visit, a second national strategy and action plan on gender empowerment and ending gender-based violence was being drafted at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (see CEDAW/C/NPL/Q/6/Add.1). 21. While welcoming the aforementioned initiative, the Special Rapporteur notes that the previous strategies lacked a holistic and human rights-based approach to violence against women, as they did not sufficiently address the need for adequate crisis services, shelters or safe houses for women and children who are victims of violence and opportunities for empowerment in such places. B. National machinery and independent institutions 22. Under the new federal structure, the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens is responsible for coordinating policy and programmes concerning gender equality and the rights of women and ensuring their implementation across the country, while the Ministry of Social Development, which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of plans to address gender-based violence at the provincial level, has established gender focal points in each of the provinces (see CEDAW/C/NPL/6, para. 13). Sections for gender violence control and for women’s development and gender mainstreaming have been established at the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens. 23. Previously, each district benefited from the services provided by the district offices for women and children, which were mandated to assist survivors of gender-based violence in obtaining access to psychosocial counselling, free legal aid, adequate security and protection and necessary health services. In 2018, however, the offices were closed at the district level and devolved to local government structures. 24. The National Women’s Commission was upgraded from a statutory body to a constitutional commission through the National Women’s Commission Act of 2017, with the aim of increasing its authority and independence and equipping it with the legal tools necessary to implement its broad constitutional mandate. At the time of writing, however, the Commission was not fully functioning owing to the considerable delay by the Constitutional Council in appointing the Chair and members of the Commission, together with the limited increase in the Commission’s budget and human and technical resources. The delay is having a significant impact on the ability of the Commission to efficiently implement its mandate. 25. The National Human Rights Commission was established in 2000. The Commission was recognized by the interim Constitution of 2007. The National Human Rights Commission Act, enacted by the Constituent Assembly in 2012, defines the functions, duties and powers of the Commission. The Commission has been entrusted with the power 2 6 Tham Maya Thapa, Minister of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, statement of the Government of Nepal to the seventy-first session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Geneva, 23 October 2018. Available at https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CEDAW/ Shared%20Documents/NPL/INT_CEDAW_STA_NPL_32836_E.pdf.