A/HRC/11/28 Page 9 Mineurs” and the Ministry of Child Development and Family Welfare, and awareness-raising campaigns are carried out regularly in schools and through radio and television. A committee of the Ministry of Tourism addresses problems of child prostitution in the tourism sector. Officials are trained in combating trafficking in persons, and police services include a 24-hour hotline. 44. Mauritius stated that it had established a Special Committee for the Eradication of Absolute Poverty, which comprises stakeholders from all sectors to address the needs of the poor and provide urgent assistance to children and the unemployed. A five- track partnership has been established with the objective to eradicate all cases of absolute poverty in seven to ten years. Interventions envisaged include provision of adequate housing facilities, placement training for the unemployed, education support, provision of basic public services, and building leadership capacity and participation. More than 395 million rupees has been provided to fund the Eradication of Absolute Poverty Programme during 2008 and 2009, and the private sector is expected to cover 40 per cent of the cost as part of a corporate social responsibility programme. 45. Mauritius explained that it had not yet signed the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees as it is a small country with constrained resources. The delegation stated that the matter is being looked into. 46. With regard to addressing domestic violence, Mauritius referred to actions including the amendment of the Protection from Domestic Violence Act, which provides for the issue of protection, occupation and tenancy orders, and defines domestic violence as including physical, emotional, sexual and even threatened violence. Complaints of domestic violence are heard by magistrates and follow-up is undertaken by probation officers and social workers. Mauritius stated that a sensitisation programme, the “Zero Tolerance Zone”, has been set up in four regions in collaboration with youth centres. 47. Nepal congratulated Mauritius for having institutionalized competitive politics, and developed a model of coalition and alliance building in governance and politics among diverse ethnic groups. Nepal made three requests: a) to share additional information about the Equal Opportunities Act and its targeted groups; b) to share its plans and practices in eradicating poverty in a time bound manner as is reflected in the works of the Special Committee for the Eradication of Absolute Poverty and five track partnerships; and c) to share additional information on the nature and composition of the Human Rights Centre and its functions in relation to the NHRC. 48. Nigeria referred to notable achievements by Mauritius in the promotion and protection of human rights and said that the challenges of limited capacity and financial resources continue to undermine the full attainment of the objectives of the various laudable programmes in this regard. Nigeria would like to see improvement in the areas of police brutality, prosecution of cases and over-crowding of the prisons. Nigeria called on the international community to provide the much needed technical and technological know-how and finances to Mauritius in support of its efforts to attain full enjoyment of civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights for its population. 49. Argentina made reference to information provided by CEDAW on deep seated patriarchal and cultural stereotypes in relation to the roles of men and women in the family and the society in Mauritius as well as in the labour market. Argentina inquired about policies being proposed to ensure gender equality. It also made reference to allegations of an increase in prostitution, especially of underage girls and the link between prostitution and tourism, and asked about