A/HRC/44/23 55. The Special Rapporteur has also received information that, since the exploitation of potash resources began in Colluli in 2017, the army has progressively cleared Afar pastoral communities from the area. According to these reports, Afar villagers from several localities around Colluli have gradually lost their means of subsistence, their access to grazing land and their animals. Entire communities have reportedly been displaced. Many of those displaced have crossed into Ethiopia. The Special Rapporteur is following up on these allegations. 56. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government of Eritrea to provide adequate followup to the cases of arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearance of members of Afar communities and to hold perpetrators to account. She also calls on the Government to promote the rights of Afar communities and other ethnic minorities through a policy of equitable development and social inclusion, guaranteeing their integration in strategies for economic development and poverty reduction. D. Benchmark 4: demonstrated commitment to addressing all forms of gender-based violence and to promoting the rights of women and gender equality 57. The Special Rapporteur takes note of the efforts made by the Government of Eritrea to tackle gender inequalities and gender discrimination. She also takes note of the creation of a national steering committee and a national action plan to coordinate the State’s efforts to ban harmful practices, including female genital mutilation, end child marriage and address other forms of gender-based violence. She further notes the Government’s commitment to promoting women’s participation in all sectors of Eritrean society. 58. To improve the situation of women and girls and make progress towards the fulfilment of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals relating to gender equality (see Goals 4, 5 and 16),25 several measures are required. 59. First, the Eritrean authorities must adopt a constitutional 26 and legislative framework to guarantee the rights of women and address all forms of discrimination and violence against women, in compliance with the State’s international obligations. 27 The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to expand and reinforce the rights of women by ratifying and implementing into domestic law the provisions of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol), and by harmonizing national law with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and acceding to the Optional Protocol to that Convention. 60. The authorities must also conduct a population and health census to obtain updated disaggregated data and baseline information regarding the status of women in Eritrean society. The previous census was conducted in 2010. Through an accurate and robust census, the Eritrean authorities will be able to collect information relevant to programming and policy development to promote gender equality and the rights of women. 61. The Special Rapporteur urges the Eritrean authorities to put an end to the practices of arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearance. She reiterates her concern about reports of women and girls who have been arbitrarily arrested without due process guarantees because of their political views or their faith and those who have disappeared since their arrest. She calls on the Government to release women political prisoners and women imprisoned for practising their faith. 62. In addition, the Special Rapporteur urges the authorities to improve the situation of women in detention and strengthen the independence, professionalism and gender sensitivity of the judiciary at all levels. The Special Rapporteur continues to receive reports that women in detention are held in overcrowded and unhygienic cells, are exposed to 25 26 27 12 See also the African Union Gender Policy adopted in 2009. See paragraph 23 above. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, in particular arts. 2 and 3, and African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, art. 18 (3).