A/HRC/41/12 rates stood at 100 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively. Illiteracy had declined among young people between the ages of 15 and 25. With the support of local NGOs, the Government had established programmes to help reintegrate dropout children into the school system. 20. The Comoros had achieved significant results in the promotion of women’s rights. The Constitution recognized women’s right of access to political office, their right to representation on local and national bodies and the importance of the equitable representation of women and men in public office. The Gender Office had organized awareness-raising campaigns on women’s representation in decision-making positions and had supported agricultural projects set up by women. Women’s platforms had also been set up on such issues as women in politics and women and sustainable development. Moreover, a national strategy to combat violence against women and minors, with an accompanying road map, had been adopted, as had a national gender equality and equity policy and the Act on Violence against Women and Children. In 2017, two helplines had been set up to enable women to report cases of violence. Owing to limited resources, the Comoros had been unable to make permanent shelters available to women, but a local non-governmental organization had set up a reception centre in 2017. 21. Regarding action to combat trafficking in persons, a monitoring group had been set up and the Comoros had ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. 22. In the area of children’s rights, the Government had conducted a study on the development of the child protection system and had devised a policy and action plan on the subject. 23. In order to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, the Comoros had ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and had enacted a law on the promotion and protection of the rights of persons in that population group. 24. The delegation also indicated that the Comoros had not changed its position on the recommendations noted during the previous universal periodic review. Freedom of belief and conscience was guaranteed for all religious communities and the question of sexual orientation was regarded as a private matter. 25. With regard to new and emerging issues, training courses had been organized to raise awareness among public officials, particularly in the police and army, of the issue of observance of human rights. The Government had also established the National Council for the Press and Audiovisual Media as the regulator in that area. 26. The delegation emphasized the challenges faced by the Comoros in addressing the lack of human and financial resources in its efforts to enhance the protection of human rights. The delegation stated that the support of the international community would be essential in that regard. In particular, the Comoros needed help in developing tools for teaching human rights, training human rights instructors, training judges and lawyers in the application of international standards, establishing a treaty monitoring system, and supporting judicial institutions and the Gender Office. 27. The Comoros also undertook to cooperate with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and with the human rights mechanisms, including those of the Human Rights Council. 28. Lastly, the delegation undertook, on behalf of the Government, to receive all the special procedures mandate holders of the Human Rights Council and renewed the acceptance of the mission to the Comoros by the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, on mutually convenient dates to be agreed with the Comorian authorities. 4 GE.19-06795