A/HRC/24/31 to attend training programmes and visit the national human rights commissions of South Africa, Rwanda and Morocco in order to benefit from their experiences and best practices. Plans are also under way to establish a human rights library for the Commission’s headquarters in Khartoum and proposed branches in the different regions of the Sudan. These initiatives are necessary for enhancing the Commission’s effectiveness. There is a need for continued support to the Commission, either through funding from UNDP or through direct bilateral assistance to the Commission from other donors to improve its effectiveness. Human Rights Committee of the National Assembly 60. In its meeting with the Independent Expert, the Human Rights Committee of the National Assembly (HRCNA) emphasized its role as a standing committee in the legislature for promoting and protecting human rights. Through its legislative oversight functions, the Committee ensures that all laws passed by the Legislature are in conformity with the Constitution and the international human rights obligations of the Sudan. This role can ensure improvement of the human rights situation through the enactment of human rights-compliant laws. In following the Independent Expert’s results-oriented approach, HRCNA should issue annual reports of its human rights interventions and inputs on legislation adopted by the National Assembly. To help improve its capacity to fulfil its role more effectively, HRCNA has requested technical assistance and training for its members, which the Independent Expert supports. Unit for Combating Violence against Women and Children 61. The Independent Expert notes the important role played by the Unit for Combating Violence against Women and Children in promoting and protecting the rights of women and children in the Sudan. The Independent Expert commends the Unit for initiating a fiveyear (2012-2016) national strategic plan aimed at combating violence against women and children. Based on information gathered by the Independent Expert on the situation of women and children in places like Darfur and other conflict-affected areas, the Unit needs to ensure that its activities reach rural areas more effectively in order to ensure protection of women and children at the grassroots level of society. In following the Independent Expert’s results-oriented approach, the Unit should publish an annual report on tangible results achieved in its five-year national strategic plan for public evaluation. 62. The Government should provide adequate funding for the Unit to enable it to fulfil its objectives effectively. International partners are also encouraged to provide the necessary technical assistance and capacity-building to help the Unit realize the objectives of its national strategic plan. National Council for Child Welfare 63. The National Council for Child Welfare (NCCW) also has an important role to play in respect of ensuring children’s rights and welfare in the Sudan. The Independent Expert commends the Council’s role in promoting the Sudanese Child Act of 2010 and its ongoing awareness-raising and advocacy campaigns on child rights issues in the Sudan. The Council’s national programme for the abolition of female genital mutilation (FGM) – a practice that is prevalent in the Sudan –, with a strategy aimed at eradicating the practice in the Sudan by 2018 is very laudable. The practice of FGM is a violation of the rights of children and contrary to the provisions of articles 19 and 24, paragraph 3, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and article 21 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, both of which the Sudan is a State party. NCCW should extend its activities to the rural areas to ensure that the rights and welfare of children are effectively protected at the grassroots levels. The legislative council in South Darfur passed a law in 2013 making 15