A/HRC/31/17 93. In the course of that year, the Government had approved the first national policy for the protection of children. The policy provided guidelines for preventive action, participatory activities and the punishment of persons responsible for any form of violence against or abuse or exploitation of children and was an instrument of key importance for the child protection system in Sao Tome and Principe. 94. The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights had carried out a review of all treaties, whether or not they had been signed by Sao Tome and Prin cipe, and a special meeting of the Council of Ministers had been scheduled to discuss further accessions and submit the relevant treaties to the National Assembly for approval and subsequent ratification. 95. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women had since been ratified. 96. The Government of Sao Tome and Principe intended to extend preschool education progressively to all children above a certain age; to build and equip more schools and classrooms to cover schooling plans at all levels of education; and to ensure a high-quality education for children with special needs through training for specialist teachers and the development of appropriate infrastructures, thereby furthering progress towards the goal of universal education and training. 97. The Counselling Centre against Domestic Violence had been created to serve as a specialized institution working to prevent domestic and sexual violence against women, men and children. Training and awareness-raising for all stakeholders were other important components of the Government’s work in that area, as were advocacy campaigns to foster behavioural change. 98. The State had also adopted a national gender mainstreaming policy and established an autonomous body to oversee the policy’s implementation. 99. Gender equality was a reality in legislation and public policy, but there were various impediments to de facto equality, including domestic violence, which mainly affected women and children. 100. To accelerate progress towards de facto equality, in 2009 the parliament had adopted a resolution recommending the introduction of a 30 per cent quota for women’s representation in decision-making bodies. 101. Among the positive effects of those initiatives were improved access to education and women’s increasing involvement in the country’s political, economic, social and cultural affairs. 102. Participation by women and women’s organizations had been key to the success of those initiatives. 103. The national strategy for the promotion of gender equality was a document outlining general policies for action in that area. Measures to combat domestic violence were contained in legislation, including specifically the Penal Code and the law against domestic violence. 104. The new Penal Code, promulgated in July 2012, contained a definition of the offence of trafficking in human beings and increased the penalties for trafficking when it was associated with prostitution, child pornography, kidnapping and exploitation of prostitution. 105. To support those measures, the State had also strengthened border controls and increased cooperation with the International Criminal Police Organization — INTERPOL. In addition, training had been provided for officers of the criminal investigation police and the immigration and border control services. For the first time 14/25 GE.16-00396