A/HRC/41/21 of Tanzania, and Zambia. Legislation on particular women’s rights issues was also developed, including on domestic violence in Belarus and North Macedonia, on female genital mutilation in the Gambia and on forced marriage in Kyrgyzstan. 69. In Afghanistan, the Cabinet’s Gender Committee is considering for endorsement two policies, on women’s inheritance and property ownership rights and on the protection of women in war and emergencies. The first draft policy is aimed at facilitating women’s economic empowerment and financial independence, while the second is intended to ensure a holistic State response for the protection of women in the event of emergencies. The Human Rights Section of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has contributed to both of these draft policies. 70. The Parliament of Morocco adopted legislation establishing a national authority to combat discrimination and enhance equality. Benin adopted a plan of action on gender, while in Senegal the Government developed and implemented a national action plan to combat discrimination against women and gender-based violence. Violence against women and girls 71. On 26 July 2017, Tunisia consolidated its leading position in the Middle East and North Africa Region in the field of women’s rights through its Parliament’s adoption of the Law on the Elimination of Violence against Women. The law is a landmark achievement that provides for the prevention of and protection from violence against women and girls and ensures that victims of violence receive adequate care and have access to justice. The law aligns Tunisian legislation with the country’s Constitution and with recommendations issued by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. 72. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office supported the implementation of the national strategy of prosecution of international crimes. It also supported the implementation of the action plan against sexual violence in conflict, launched by the country’s armed forces – including through advocacy and training of army commanders on the prevention of conflict-related sexual violence. 73. In order to more effectively defend and realize women��s rights in Uruguay through the implementation of a newly approved law on gender-based violence, the Centre for Judicial Studies, with the support of OHCHR and the United Nations country team, provided technical support for judges to strengthen their capacity to address harmful stereotypes in cases of gender-based violence and infringement of sexual and reproductive health rights. 74. Barbados and Dominica amended their respective Sexual Offences Acts to criminalize marital rape. Barbados also recently introduced sexual harassment legislation applicable in the workplace. In 2019, OHCHR, together with UN-Women, will train government officials in charge of implementing the new legislation. 75. In Central America, OHCHR is supporting the development and use of protocols for the investigation of femicide. In Honduras, this included joint advocacy with other United Nations agencies and partners, sharing comparative experiences in public forums, and organizing technical workshops, all based on OHCHR monitoring of experiences of femicide. This work will continue in 2019, together with other United Nations agencies, in the context of the Spotlight Initiative, to review the rules of work of the country’s Femicide Unit, using the Latin American Protocol on Investigation of Gender-Related Killings of Women. 76. Another important target in the Sustainable Development Goals addresses the need to eliminate all forms of trafficking. OHCHR and UNDP are jointly helping the Jamaican authorities to finalize the national policy to combat trafficking in persons in Jamaica for 2018–2030, which provides a comprehensive framework to implement, monitor and evaluate the policy on human trafficking. The policy document is expected to be adopted by the Government of Jamaica in 2019. This represents significant progress, as Jamaica is both a source and destination country for trafficking in persons, especially women and girls. 77. In Afghanistan, the Government issued Presidential Decree No. 262, which amended the Penal Code of 2018 in order to enable the 2009 law on elimination of violence against 14

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