A/HRC/44/53 defendants to pay compensation and issue an apology.162 However, because the courts did not rule on the general legality of those practices, medical facilities, including one of the defendants, reportedly still promote them. 163 C. Public policy 80. Examples of policies being adopted are the following: (a) Enforcement agencies. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommended that OAS member States adequately monitor the activity of professionals who offer practices of “conversion therapy”.164 In Hawaii, United States, a sexual orientation counselling task force was established to address the concerns of minors seeking counselling on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and related behaviours;165 (b) Complaint system. In Victoria, Australia, the Government established a Health Complaints Commissioner with a mandate in respect of “health services”, broadly defined to allow a complaint to be made in relation to practices of “conversion”;166 (c) Health insurance coverage. In the Netherlands, since 2012, costs connected to practices of “conversion” are not reimbursed by the national health insurance; 167 (d) Public funding. In certain states in Maryland, New York and North Carolina, United States, state funds cannot be used to conduct practices of “conversion”.168 In Puerto Rico, the offer, either direct or indirect, of “conversion therapy” practices prevents the granting of economic incentives for activities, services and investments in the scientific, hospital or medical field;169 in the Netherlands, financial support to an organization involved in subjecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or gender-diverse persons to those practices was ended;170 (e) Public facilities bans. In New York, local laws regulating mental health services were amended in 2016 to prohibit such practices in public facilities;171 (f) Gathering data. In 2017, the United Kingdom Government Equalities Office conducted a national survey on the basis of which the Government established the national action plan on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender-diverse persons, in which it sets out the intention to fully consider all legislative and non-legislative options to prohibit promoting, offering or conducting such practices;172 (g) Education. New Zealand has expressed the view that creating awareness on the ineffectiveness of the practice and where victims can seek help if harm has been caused would be more beneficial than a legislative ban. 173 81. Although no regulations are in place yet, official messages condemning practices of “conversion therapy” can set the tone that states will not tolerate those practices. At the regional level, the European Parliament welcomed initiatives prohibiting them, 174 the Prime Minister of Luxembourg publicly denounced them 175 and, in 2018, Ireland included a 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 20 Submission by Darius Longarino. Submission by Berfu Yalcin. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “Advances and challenges towards the recognition of the rights of LGBTI persons in the Americas”, 2018, recommendation (8) (a). Senate Bill 270, A bill for an act relating to minors (2018), section 2. Submission by Equality Australia. Submission by Choice for Youth and Sexuality. Submission by the Trevor Project. See ilga.org/Conversion-therapy-global-research-ILGA-World. Submission by the Netherlands. New York Compiled Codes Rules and Regulations, Title 14, Chapter XIII, Section 527.8. Submission by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Submission by New Zealand. See www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-8-2018-0056_EN.html. Submission by Commission consultative des droits de l’homme.