A/HRC/38/5 developments and agreed principles, such as the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. 37. The number of child marriages had dropped since the launch in May 2017 of a campaign by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Talitha Project entitled “Let girls be girls”. An analysis of the figures from May to December 2016 and the same period in 2017 indicated that the number of young people under 18 years of age getting married had fallen by almost 50 per cent thanks to public awareness campaigns. One challenge that Tonga faced in consultations relating to legislative changes in that area had to do with the country’s fundamental Christian and cultural beliefs. 38. The freedom of information policy approved in 2012 had strengthened the freedom of speech, expression and the press guaranteed in clause 7 of the Constitution. A freedom of information unit had been established within the Ministry of Information and Communication to coordinate all information disclosure and dissemination within the public service, providing policy advice and guidelines for compliance with and the implementation of the policy. 39. In support of the freedom of information policy, systems and structures had been established, such as the freedom of information unit and the Cabinet steering committee, to manage a phased process of implementation. One challenge that Tonga faced in the development of a freedom of information bill was the Government’s lack of administrative capacity to store and maintain the large number of physical records, both current and historical in each Government ministry. That issue and the policy were being addressed by Government ministries and organizations at the same time to ensure that, when the law came into effect, the Government would be able to provide the relevant documents. 40. Accordingly, the Government had developed administrative and archival projects to ensure safe storage and preservation of records. Two examples were the project within the Ministry of Justice to digitize all civil registry information, with the assistance of the Commonwealth Secretariat within the framework of its project to publish historical birth records that were over 100 years old. Other ministries continued to provide access to information via the Internet and the development of websites. For example, the Attorney General’s Office ran a comprehensive website that published all of the laws of Tonga, as well as gazettes and judgments of the courts. The Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications ran a social media page on Facebook that provided information on government initiatives and workshops. Furthermore, Tonga was planning to develop e-Government with the assistance of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. 41. Tonga continued to provide free primary education for Tongan children attending public primary schools. Efforts were being made to strengthen human rights education, train public officials and involve civil society in the promotion and protection of human rights through international and regional cooperation. 42. Tonga did not have the necessary resources to establish a national human rights institution in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). 43. For example, in a 2016 amendment to the Commissioner for Public Relations Act 2001, the Commissioner of Public Relations had been renamed the Ombudsman with a view to ensuring that Tonga was in line with relevant international practice. The Ombudsman’s Office was working to boost public awareness by conducting community outreach programmes and running television broadcasts throughout the country, and those efforts had led to an increase in the number of complaints received and successfully addressed by the Office. One advantage of its small community was the fact that access to Tongan government ministers, members of the Legislative Assembly and the constitutional right to petition the King on human rights abuse were still feasible, easily accessible options for the Tongan people. 44. In 2016, Tonga had introduced a cash assistance initiative for persons with disabilities to promote social and economic development for the elimination of poverty. In addition, Tongan NGOs had set up programmes through the Tonga Youth Employment and 6