A/HRC/4/95 page 16 54. Cambodia has a mixed record on compliance with its treaty-reporting obligations. Since 1992, it has submitted, and the treaty bodies have considered, 6 of the 23 reports required under the terms of the treaties. It has reported at least once to all but one of the treaty bodies. Currently, 12 reports are overdue, with Cambodia’s initial report under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights overdue since June 1994. During 2006, the office advocated for the submission of this report, which had reached an advanced stage of finalization with technical assistance from the office and the participation of other United Nations agencies when progress stalled in March 2005. The draft of Cambodia’s periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was submitted to the Council of Ministers in October 2006. 55. The office assisted the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the National Council for Women and the United Nations Development Fund for Women in following up on the concluding observations and recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, which were issued in January 2006. The office’s efforts have focused on training in the treaty system and advocating for the implementation of the recommendations by all sectors of government with broader support from the United Nations Country Team. 56. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is assisting in the preparation of Cambodia’s second periodic report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child which was due in 1999. The office participated in a workshop organized by the National Council for Children to discuss the draft report with civil society. G. National human rights institution 57. The office in Cambodia participated in a conference on establishing a national human rights institution in Cambodia in September, which was co-hosted by the Government’s Human Rights Committee and the Cambodian NGO working group for an ASEAN regional human rights mechanism. The Prime Minister opened the conference and endorsed the establishment of a national human rights institution in accordance with the Principles on national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, commonly referred to as the “Paris Principles”. He emphasized that such an institution was not intended to replace existing human rights institutions. The conference agreed to establish a joint working group, composed of representatives of government and civil society, which has been charged with several tasks, including preparing a draft law to establish a national human rights institution. 58. In its statement to the conference, the office explained the Paris Principles in some detail, and underlined that beyond the minimum standards they set, an effective national human rights institution requires a supportive environment in which to work effectively. There must be political will within the Government, an effective and independent judiciary and other democratic institutions, an engaged civil society and a sensitized bureaucracy, military and police forces. 59. A credible and effective national human rights institution also requires general understanding and acceptance of its unique mandate in relation to the Government, the legislature, the judiciary and civil society organizations, all of which are part of a national system