A/HRC/39/44 law with the Convention. OHCHR welcomes these developments, followed by the adoption on 11 April 2018 of the National Action Plan on Measures to be Implemented for Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence for the period 2018−2020. 27. In addition, in November 2017, the Office of the Public Defender launched the first monitoring report on femicide, with the support of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women). Within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a specialized Human Rights Department was created in January 2018 to oversee, inter alia, investigations into cases of sexual and domestic violence, identify challenges and issue recommendations. Further to awareness-raising campaigns by UN-Women and the Georgian authorities, the United Nations country team has reported an increase in the number of disclosures and criminal prosecutions of cases of violence against women and domestic violence within the period 2014−2017. 28. Yet, in its submission to OHCHR the Office of the Public Defender underscored the high number of killings of women. It cited data from the Chief Prosecutor’s Office according to which in 2017, investigations were launched into 26 killings of women (including cases involving evidence of domestic violence) and 15 attempted killings (including cases involving evidence of domestic violence). According to the Public Defender, the high number of killings of women was linked, inter alia, to the absence of a mechanism to monitor and assess risks of violence against women and domestic violence. 29. In her submission, the Public Defender stated that women’s participation in Cabinet positions remained low for 2018. As of May 2018, 3 ministers out of 14 were women. While women comprised the majority of employees at the ministries, their share of managerial positions was low. Moreover, only one ministry had an adviser on gender issues; eight ministries did not have such a position at all and in six ministries the gender advisory function was performed by officials with other responsibilities. The Public Defender also highlighted women’s limited participation in local self-governance, with a low number of women candidates in the 2017 local elections and weak representation in municipal councils. As of May 2018, there was only one female mayor in Georgia. 5. Business and human rights 30. According to several reports received by OHCHR, workplace safety and other worker protections are weak in Georgia, while investigations into workplace incidents rarely lead to accountability. Workers in the mining and construction industries are particularly affected. OHCHR has been closely following reports on deaths resulting from unsafe conditions of work in Georgia and stresses the need for urgent attention to the matter, including through a broader engagement of businesses on human rights. According to the Public Defender, 252 people died in the period 2011−2016 due to unsafe working conditions. In 2017, workplace accidents resulted in the deaths of 47 individuals and injuries to 106. According to the Government, 234 persons were prosecuted for violations of workplace safety rules in the period 2011−2016, 43 in 2017 and 23 between January and June 2018. 31. OHCHR notes the adoption of the Law on Occupational Safety in March 2018. It introduces, inter alia, a mechanism ⸻ the Labour Conditions Inspection Department of the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Issues ⸻ tasked with enforcing applicable obligations on workplace safety, including by imposing sanctions when appropriate. The Public Defender welcomed this development. However, she expressed concerns over shortcomings in the new law, notably its limited scope, which excluded hard, harmful and dangerous work. B. Access to Abkhazia and South Ossetia 32. During the reporting period, there has been no progress in granting access for OHCHR and international human rights mechanisms to Abkhazia and/or South Ossetia pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 37/40. 7