A/HRC/13/7 9. Cyprus has accepted the jurisdiction of the United Nations monitoring mechanisms and expressed its commitment to those mechanisms. Occasional delays in submitting country reports are solely due to bureaucratic deficiencies. Upon the accession of Cyprus to the European Union in 2004, human rights protection was further streamlined by the application of the relevant European Union acquis. 10. Regrettably, the Government is not in a position to ensure implementation of all its international obligations, including ensuring universal application of human rights to all individuals, throughout the territory of the Republic of Cyprus. This is due to the fact that, since 1974, the Government has been prevented from exercising effective control over one third of its territory as a result of illegal foreign military occupation. Consequently, all information and verifiable data presented in the national report concern the area under the effective control of the Government of Cyprus. 11. Cyprus acknowledged that its national institution for the protection of human rights was not fully compatible with the Paris Principles. Pending relevant legislation, the national institution’s statute had been amended by a decision of the Council of Ministers in 2009 to ensure its total independence from the Government and to allocate sufficient resources. At the same time there existed other effective internal monitoring mechanisms which were highly active. 12. The delegation indicated that the promotion of children’s rights had been included as an educational target for the current school year. Cyprus recognized that some of its domestic laws did not fully comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and highlighted that those laws were now under review, including the laws on adoption, juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice. 13. Corporal punishment in the family is prohibited by law and prosecuted. There is a record of such criminal cases brought before the courts which resulted in convictions. 14. Cyprus indicated that the issue of military recruitment of persons under the age of 18 would be settled with the ratification of OP-CRC-AC. 15. The full protection of children’s rights safeguarded by CRC applies to every person under 18. A special administrative procedure for handling young offenders between the ages 14 and 16 is in place, to decriminalize their acts and divert them from the criminal and judicial system. The age of criminal responsibility is 14 and applies to all criminal offences. The overall legal, procedural and administrative environment pertaining to children involved in the criminal justice system is under review. 16. The issue of granting the status of internally displaced persons and consequential benefits to children of internally displaced women is currently under examination. 17. The National Machinery for Women’s Rights, headed by the Minister of Justice, has seen its budget triple in recent years. The first five-year National Action Plan on Gender Equality was adopted in 2007 and a Ministerial Committee on Gender Equality has been established to monitor its implementation. The National Machinery for Women’s Rights has pursued effective initiatives aimed at changing stereotypes and encouraging girls to pursue education leading to wider career choices. 18. In relation to domestic violence, the delegation noted that concerted actions were based on the relevant law as well as the Manual of Interdepartmental Procedures, which was being revised. The five-year national action plan was at its final stage of deliberation. In an effort to tackle domestic violence on the basis of valid data, the police were in the process of conducting three major studies. 19. Cyprus noted that one of the main targets of the National Strategy Reports on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2008-2010 focused on the promotion of gender equality and 4