A/HRC/39/44 enforcement and other public officials. The bill envisages a State inspector elected for a single six-year term and accountable to parliament. 21. OHCHR considers this text to be a step forward. OHCHR provided comments on the bill, most of which were reflected in the version submitted to parliament. OHCHR further recommends eliminating from the current text provisions exempting the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Head of State Security from being investigated, limiting the role of prosecutorial authorities during the investigatory phase and enabling the State inspector to obtain permission to conduct investigatory actions directly through national courts. 3. Combating discrimination 22. Combating discrimination remains a priority for OHCHR capacity-building activities in Georgia. The Public Defender stated in her submission that the realization of the right to equality remained a challenge and that discrimination was frequent in the private sector. She stressed the need for the timely adoption of the draft amendments submitted by her Office to parliament in 2015 to eliminate shortcomings in the current antidiscrimination legislation. These included proposals to enforce the law in the private sector and to extend the deadline for filing complaints of alleged discrimination with the courts. The Public Defender also highlighted that the current law did not recognize harassment, sexual harassment and denial of reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities as forms of discrimination. 23. In her submission, the Public Defender reported that her Office had considered 162 new cases of alleged discrimination in 2017. The largest number of complaints concerned alleged discrimination on the grounds of disability, gender, ethnicity, differing opinion, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, citizenship and political opinion. According to the Public Defender, the most vulnerable groups in terms of realization of the right to equality remained women; persons with disabilities; children; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons; and members of religious minorities. Discrimination was most frequently alleged to occur in the area of precontractual and labour relationships and had also proved to be a problem in the allocation of social benefits. 24. As in 2017, at the invitation of the Government of Georgia, OHCHR observed a rally held on 17 May 2018 in Tbilisi by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community on the occasion of the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. While some lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex organizations decided not to participate due to concerns over potential counter-demonstrations and threats of violence, significant protection ensured by the police made the rally possible. The presence of high-level officials at the site of the rally was perceived as a strong signal of the Government’s commitment to ensure the right to peaceful assembly of all individuals. 25. Discrimination on religious grounds is a matter that OHCHR continues to address regularly through its capacity-building activities. In its first report on cooperation with Georgia, OHCHR highlighted the situation of Muslims in the city of Batumi who had been forced to pray in the open air due to the small size of the mosque and who had encountered difficulties in obtaining a permit for the construction of a new mosque. 10 According to information provided to OHCHR for the present report, the New Mosque Building Foundation in Batumi that purchased land in 2016 for the construction of a new mosque was denied a construction permit. It subsequently launched appeal proceedings before the courts. During the reporting period, OHCHR has not been able to confirm whether a reconstruction or expansion project for the existing mosque had begun. 4. Promoting gender equality and combating domestic violence 26. OHCHR has continued to contribute to advocacy by the United Nations country team in Georgia to promote gender equality and combat domestic violence. In 2017, Georgia ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and adopted a legislative package to align domestic 10 6 See A/HRC/36/65, para. 22.