A/HRC/32/5 9. Several pieces of legislation had been enacted with a view to improving the authorities’ ability to intervene in all sectors. 10. With regard to democratic governance, Niger had established the institutions of the Republic provided for by the Constitution of 25 November 2010. Furthermore, all those institutions had withstood the internal and external difficulties that Niger had faced, including the latest attempted coup d’état. 11. In addition, the National Human Rights Commission had been established; it now met the criteria for “A” status accreditation by the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. 12. Significant progress had been made since 2011 in promoting transparency and good governance. The main developments in that regard were the establishment of a high authority to combat corruption and related offences and the regular publication of Court of Audit reports. 13. There had also been significant developments in the field of civil and political rights since 2011, including, in particular, the creation of a counter-terrorism institutional framework, composed of a national security council, a counter-terrorist judicial unit and a central counter-terrorism office. Other notable developments in that connection included improved access to justice, the development of press freedom and the strengthening of the legal and institutional framework for combating slavery and trafficking in persons. 14. Regarding access to justice, Niger had adopted a national policy on justice and human rights, together with a 10-year action plan for 2016-2025; it had also carried out several reforms, including the establishment of the National Agency for Legal and Judicial Assistance with a view to ensuring access to justice for vulnerable persons. An office had also been established, together with a helpline, in order to fight corruption and influence peddling in the judiciary. 15. Niger had established a national commission to coordinate the fight against trafficking in persons and a national agency for combating trafficking in persons. 16. During her visit to the country in 2014, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and its consequences had acknowledged the efforts made by Niger to implement the universal periodic review recommendations. 17. With respect to press freedom, press offences had been decriminalized, the capacities of the privately-owned media had been strengthened thanks to an increase in the budget of the press support fund, and the President of the Republic had signed the Declaration of Table Mountain, which sought to abolish the imprisonment of journalists for performing their professional duties. 18. Regarding economic, social and cultural rights, Niger had implemented the 3N Initiative (The people of Niger feed the people of Niger), which had led to the achievement of Millennium Development Goal 1 on reducing malnutrition. Noteworthy measures also included the implementation of a free health-care policy, which had led to an improvement in mother and child health; the 2012 revision of the Labour Code, which had been undertaken with a view to enhancing protection of the right to work; and the creation of a national employment observatory. 19. With regard to the promotion and protection of the rights of specific groups, the representative of Niger referred to the 2014 amendment of the Nationality Act, which sought to eliminate discrimination against women in the transmission of their nationality to foreign husbands; the 2014 amendment which had raised from 10 to 15 per cent the quota for both sexes in elected posts; the establishment of a national gender observatory; the adoption of national policy on the comprehensive development of young children and a 4 GE.16-05960