A/HRC/17/24 Parliamentarians, State representatives, national human rights institutions, trade unions and civil society organizations from Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Mali and Senegal. As a followup to the conference, the RO supported the publication of leaflets explaining the purpose of the Optional Protocol to ICESCR, and encouraged its ratification by, among others, organizing national seminars, including in Mali and Burkina Faso in December 2010. In October 2010, OHCHR provided training sessions on reporting under ICESCR in Senegal and Cape Verde. It also organized training and awareness-raising activities for internal staff and external partners in West Africa, with a view to increasing knowledge on key issues affecting women's access to justice, economic, social and cultural rights and participation in decision-making. A training workshop on women's human rights, and gender mainstreaming was organized in Niamey, Niger, for 10 Heads of field presences in West Africa and 20 United Nations and national partners. 32. The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continued to monitor the violations of economic, social and cultural rights, and the illegal exploitation of natural resources, with particular attention to the case of mass rape in Walikale. It also conducted capacity-building activities for Governmental and non-governmental actors on the topic, including a round table with the Parliamentarian Network for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, held on 25 and 26 October 2010. Moreover, UNJHRO, in collaboration with the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), organized a workshop on economic, social and cultural rights and exploitation of natural resources in DRC on 17 and 18 August 2010. The workshop paid particular attention to the relation between the exploitation of natural resources and the ongoing conflict in the eastern part of the country. It was recommended that DRC strengthen the fight against impunity, and ratify the protocols on certification and traceability. 33. OHCHR-Middle East Regional Office continued to advocate for Palestinians’ right to work in Lebanon through its participation in the United Nations Integrated Working Group on Palestinian Issues, the Protection Working Group in North Lebanon, and its cooperation with the Committee for the Employment of Palestinians in Lebanon. A first positive step in 2010 was the decision made by the Lebanese Ministry of Labour exempting Palestinian refugees from application of a law restricting certain professions to Lebanese citizens only. C. Partnerships with civil society and United Nations agencies 34. OHCHR continued its close partnership and collaboration with various United Nations agencies, regional human rights mechanisms, and civil society organizations working on issues related to the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights, the MDGs and poverty reduction. 35. OHCHR participated as a panellist in an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) thematic hearing of 23 March 2010 on discrimination against women in the exercise of their economic and social rights. In addition, on 18 and 19 October 2010, OHCHR participated in the IACHR working meeting aimed at identifying ways to overcome the barriers currently limiting the economic, social and cultural rights of women in the Americas. 36. OHCHR continues its work with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to integrate human rights into development cooperation, and to support the efforts of other organizations to integrate human rights into their work. OHCHR participated in the launch of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) manual, “A Human Rights–Based Approach to Programming: Practical Information and Training Materials”, which provides tools to 10