A/HRC/7/56 page 14 the villagers and acted as their accomplices. It also lodged a complaint with the Bar Association against the 10 lawyers representing the villagers, alleging that they had incited villagers to file a complaint against it. Both of these complaints remain under investigation. F. Adherence to international human rights treaties 46. Cambodia has one of the best ratification records for human rights treaties in the Asia region: it has ratified six of the core human rights treaties and signed two others; it has ratified three optional protocols and signed three others; and has ratified seven ILO conventions. While these formal commitments are an important expression of the Government’s commitment to international human rights standards, effective implementation of treaty obligations has been limited. Cambodia also acceded to the United Nations Convention against Corruption on 5 September 2007. 47. During 2007, Cambodia significantly strengthened its formal commitments to international treaty standards for the protection and promotion of human rights. On 30 March 2007, Cambodia deposited its instrument of ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Office has been pursuing discussions with Government counterparts on possible technical assistance with regard to the creation of a national preventive mechanism, which should be in place by the end of April 2008. This was followed by ratification on 1 August 2007 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The Office provided advice to the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation concerning the content of the new Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. As a result, the Ministry recommended to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Cambodia sign and eventually ratify the Convention and its Optional Protocol. Following the signing of the two instruments on 1 October 2007, the Office, together with the ILO and UNICEF, in conjunction with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Disability Action Council, initiated a public event aimed at lawmakers to advocate for early ratification of the Convention alongside adoption of the national law on the rights of disabled persons. 48. Cambodia is currently overdue on the submission of 14 reports to the human rights treaty bodies. The Government is also in the process of preparing its second periodic report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with assistance from UNICEF. The draft of Cambodia’s next periodic report under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which was submitted to the Council of Ministers in October 2006, has not progressed further. Although Cambodia became a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in August 1992, it is yet to submit its first report under the Covenant. G. Efforts to establish a national human rights institution 49. The Office has continued to advise the process under way to establish a national human rights institution (NHRI) in accordance with the Principles relating to the status of national institutions (the Paris Principles). Following the national conference in Siem Reap in September 2006 at which the Prime Minister publicly endorsed the initiative, a national working group was formed consisting of representatives of the Government’s Human Rights Committee