A/HRC/32/4 9. The budget of the Office of the Ombudsman had been increased to enable cases of human rights abuses to be investigated and awareness-raising programmes to be carried out. The Office of the Ombudsman had recently completed a draft white paper on the rights of marginalized communities, and had facilitated the process for the preparation and drafting of the National Human Rights Action Plan, which had been adopted by the Government in December 2014. 10. Namibia continued to do well on media freedom. The Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index of 2015 had ranked Namibia seventeenth out of 180 countries in the world and first in Africa in the areas of media pluralism and independence, respect for the safety and freedom of journalists, and the legislative, institutional and infrastructural environment in which the media operated. 11. The overriding challenges experienced by Namibia were in effectively tackling and overcoming unemployment and persistent poverty. As shown by the Gini coefficient, Namibia was one of the most unequal societies in the world, with a huge income gap between the rich and the poor that had been inherited at independence. Namibia was regarded as an upper-middle-income country, mainly due to its per capita gross national income, relatively world-class infrastructure, sophisticated banking system, good coverage of medical services, stable democracy and many other amenities reminiscent of a developed country. Consequently, Namibia had experienced the withdrawal of many international social partners, which had aggravated the challenges. 12. In 2015, the Ministry of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare had been established, with a mandate of coordinating all programmes aimed at eradicating poverty. The percentage of people receiving social grants, such as disability grants, old age pension, and grants for orphans and vulnerable children, had drastically increased. The Wage Order for Domestic Workers Regulations (under the Labour Act of 2007) which had come into force on 16 December 2014 set the minimum wage and supplementary minimum conditions for employment for domestic workers. 13. A draft law to be tabled in Parliament before the end of 2016 defined the crime of torture in accordance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. 14. In 2015, Parliament had passed the Child Care and Protection Act, which dealt, among other things, with juvenile justice, adoption, and protection from harmful cultural practices. The first children’s advocate had been appointed in the Office of the Ombudsman. 15. In 2014, the Government had implemented free universal primary education in public schools, which had been extended to secondary education in public schools. 16. Violence against women and children remained a serious concern. The Combating of Domestic Violence Act was currently being reviewed with a view to increasing penalties. 17. In March 2010, a revised National Gender Policy, for 2010-2020, had been launched. The overarching goal was to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of both men and women. Following elections in 2014 and 2015, women made up 41.6 per cent of the representatives in the National Assembly, 23.8 per cent of the representatives on regional councils and 48.2 per cent of the representatives on local authority councils. 18. Maternal mortality remained a concern and measures to reduce maternal mortality had been introduced. Those measures included a road map for an acceleration in the reduction in maternal and neonatal mortality and for a revision of the scope of practice for the health-care profession (nurses and midwives), an increase in capacity-building, information and awareness campaigns on health issues, and prevention of the mother-to4