A/HRC/30/5 46. Montenegro welcomed the adoption of the Gender Equality Act, which defined the term “discrimination against women” and prohibited “harmful practices”. It asked Malawi to elaborate on the activities undertaken to enforce existing legislation prohibiting female genital mutilation. 47. Morocco commended the creation of the Office of the Ombudsman, the Human Rights Commission and the Law Commission. It also supported the national human rights action plan and a series of reforms for the establishment of a legislative and political environment appropriate for the development and enjoyment of human rights. 48. Namibia was pleased to note the initiatives regarding the road map on accelerated reduction of maternal and neonatal deaths and the national sexual reproductive health and rights strategy, the passing of the Gender Equality Act of 2013 and the adoption of the Disability Act in 2012. 49. Nepal commended Malawi on its adoption of the Disability Act in 2012 and the Gender Equality Act in 2013, seeing the Gender Equality Act as an important step towards protecting women from harmful traditional practices and other discrimination. 50. The Netherlands welcomed the passing of the Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act, while noting, however, that this law also contained several discriminatory provisions that stigmatized lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people and hampered the fight against HIV/AIDS. 51. The delegation of Malawi stated that the Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act had been passed in 2015 and was expected to be operational soon. Regarding the apparent inconsistency in the age of marriage between the Act and the Constitution, the delegation pointed out that the Act provided for marriageable age to be 18 years. Section 22 (6) of the Constitution provided that persons between the ages of 15 and 18 years could marry only with the consent of their parents. The Constitution also provided that anyone above the age of 18 would not be prevented from entering into a marriage. The Constitutional provisions allowing for persons between the ages of 15 to 18 years to marry could only be amended through a referendum. 52. The Trafficking in Persons Act, the Gender Equality Act and the Disability Act were operational. On the issues of press freedom, the access to information bill was in the process of being finalized. The bill would soon to be submitted to the Cabinet and thereafter to Parliament. 53. The delegation emphasized that discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual persons was a problem that existed not only in Malawi. However, society in Malawi needed to evolve and an informed society would be able to take a decision on this matter. There was a need for discussion and debate on the issue. However, there had not been any attempt by civil society to engage with the Government. 54. The Prisons Act was being reviewed and should be completed later in 2015. Malawi had the death penalty in its laws, but no one had been executed since 1994. Society needed to be encouraged to discuss the issue. For those sentenced to death after 1994, some of those sentences were being reviewed. The delegation explained that it was not mandatory for a court to impose the death sentence for murder. The court had the discretion to impose another sentence. 55. Nicaragua acknowledged efforts to protect child rights and the adoption of measures to promote the universal right of children to education. It highlighted the adoption of a comprehensive law on disabilities. 56. The Niger noted several institutions that functioned harmoniously and brought about better protection of human rights, such as the Office of the Ombudsman and the Human 8