A/HRC/40/9 Assembly and 3 elected female members (out of a total of 17 seats) in the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. The proportion of women in the most senior decision-making positions in the public sector had increased, and under the National Code of Corporate Governance, all private sector organizations should have directors from both genders as board members. The Gender Equality Bill was currently being finalized. 17. The International Labour Organization (ILO) Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) had been incorporated into domestic legislation in section 20 of the Employment Rights Act, and a National Employment Department had been established under the National Employment Act of 2017 to promote employment, placements and training for job seekers. The Equal Opportunities Act had been amended in 2017 to prohibit discrimination in employment on the grounds of a person’s criminal record. 18. A new Data Protection Act had come into force in January 2018 to protect the privacy rights of individuals in view of the developments in techniques used to capture, transmit, manipulate, record or store data relating to individuals. Following the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Madhewoo v. the State of Mauritius and another, biometric information stored under the National Identity Card (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 2013 had been destroyed by a decision of the Government. 19. Domestic violence was still an area of concern, although the number of new cases of domestic violence against women had decreased. The Protection from Domestic Violence Act had been amended in 2016 to provide better protection for victims of domestic violence, and a national protocol on domestic violence was currently being prepared. 20. Violence against children, sexual abuse of children and child marriage were also issues of great concern. Legislation on child marriage in Mauritius seemed out of step compared to other countries, but there had been much progress in the collective thinking for a change in the minimum age for marriage and the delegation hoped to report further progress in the future. A zero-tolerance policy against sexual exploitation of children had been established, and violence against children, child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, had been addressed through a variety of measures. A Children’s Bill was expected to be introduced in the National Assembly the following year. 21. Mauritius had recently joined the call to action to end forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking. A draft national action plan to combat trafficking in persons was currently under preparation and an interministerial committee had been set up to ensure proper coordination. 22. Drug trafficking and addiction posed serious challenges. A Commission of Inquiry on Drug Trafficking had been set up in 2015, and a ministerial committee and a task force had been set up to coordinate the implementation of recommendations made by the Commission. In order to address drug control comprehensively, a National Drug Control Master Plan had been prepared for the period 2018–2022. 23. Mauritius was yet to embark on consultations planned for early 2019 on the decriminalization of consensual homosexual activity. The Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Institutional Reforms was in consultation with non-governmental organizations that were advocating for a change in the law. However, there was a need for awarenessraising and acceptance among the population at large before amendment of the current legislation could be considered. 24. Mauritius was sparing no efforts for the completion of its decolonization process so that it could fully exercise its sovereignty over the entirety of its territory. In that respect, the General Assembly had adopted resolution 71/292 in June 2017 on a request for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. Following the public hearings at the Court in September 2018, Mauritius hoped that the Court would give an opinion that would contribute to completing its decolonization, thereby enabling Mauritian citizens, especially those of Chagossian origin, to return to the Chagos Archipelago. 25. Mauritius was concerned about the upsurge in the number of patients who had been diagnosed with diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular problems. The construction of a new 4