A/HRC/8/26 Page 6 disagrees, it provides reasons thereof in the action taken report. The experience has been that 95 per cent of recommendations have been generally complied with. The NHRC is playing a major role in the drawing up of a National Action Plan for Human Rights, which will cover issues such as the right to health, education, food security, housing, custodial justice and trafficking in women and children. The Commission’s role was complementary to that of the judiciary. The Supreme Court has referred a number of important matters to the Commission for monitoring while the Commission has also taken specific cases of violations of human rights to the courts. The guidelines developed by the Commission on the treatment of mentally ill persons held in prisons and child rape cases have been adopted by the Delhi High Court and commended for adoption. 22. The Indian delegation, in regard to women and children, stated that a bill to prevent sexual harassment at the work place is on the anvil. The National Policy for Empowerment of Women 2001 aims at bringing about advancement, development and empowerment of women in all spheres of life. The National Commission for Women was constituted with the mandate to safeguard women’s rights. Thirty per cent of all wage employment is reserved for women. Mobilization of women through Self-Help Groups for income generation activities has been successfully adopted in programmes such as Swayamsidha through which 70,000 Self-Help Groups have been formed, with 1 million members. The Government has initiated gender budgeting as a tool for gender mainstreaming in all sectors with the objective of making budgets more gender responsive. To provide protection for women in distress, over 565 home shelters and short stay homes and help lines are being operated. A Scheme for Prevention of Trafficking and Rescue, Rehabilitation of Victims of Trafficking for Commercial Sexual Exploitation has been launched. On the anvil was a new scheme for relief and support to rape victims. Special measures to improve the educational status of women include a pronounced gender focus in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan universalization of elementary education. The health needs of women received special priority in the National Rural Health Mission. 23. India was implementing the world’s largest child care programme - the Integrated Child Development Services, where supplementary nutrition is provided to over 78 million women and children and preschool education to 32 million children, as well as support and rehabilitation to those children. The Commission for Protection of Child Rights was set up in March 2007 to ensure effective implementation of child rights. The Government has adopted a multi-pronged sequential approach to eliminate the problem of child labour. The Action Plan of the National Policy on Child Labour 1987 included strict enforcement of the Child Labour Act 1986 and the prohibiting of employment of children in hazardous occupations and as domestic help. The National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme was in operation in 250 high child labour endemic districts in the country and the spread is proposed to be increased in the coming years. Other initiatives include extensive awareness and sensitization programs of various stakeholders strict enforcement measures. An important measure taken very recently was the collaboration with corporate houses to clean supply chains for eliminating child labour. A beginning has been made with the garment industry for an action plan to enable eliminating child labour and at the same time provide gainful employment to their families. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 24. During the interactive dialogue, 42 statements were made by the following delegations. 25. While welcoming the fact that India is a party to a number of international human rights instruments, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland noted that India has not ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment or its Optional Protocol. It recommended that India ratify both instruments at the