A/HRC/43/13 prisons and the Office for the Coordination and Oversight of Courts and Prisons had been created to oversee the prison administration. 111. Under Malagasy law, the age of marriage was set at 18 years. However, early marriages were possible with parental consent, if approved by a court. To prevent early marriages from becoming widespread, awareness-raising campaigns and targeted training had been set up for the various actors of the justice system. A special register of complaints from child victims had been set up in courts of first instance, thereby enabling the traceability of cases referred to the courts. Public awareness-raising campaigns had also been conducted. 112. Amendments to the law on persons with disabilities had recently been proposed to bring it into line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 113. In 2015, the Government of Madagascar had submitted a bill on the ratification of the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees for consideration by the National Assembly, but the bill had not been adopted. The population had remained rather reluctant to host refugees. The Government had worked in collaboration with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and, in 2019, Madagascar had hosted 156 asylum seekers. The Directorate of Intelligence and Immigration and Emigration Control had processed the applications of refugees and stateless persons. Madagascar had not yet set up procedures for identifying stateless persons. 114. In 2017, a retroactive law had been enacted to amend and supplement certain provisions of the Malagasy Nationality Code. Furthermore, a draft national action plan had been drawn up and would be submitted for approval in the near future. 115. With regard to the voluntary termination of pregnancy, an inclusive national forum on the right to life had been held in December 2018. The forum had given women from different social classes the opportunity to discuss unwanted pregnancies and abortion. Subsequently, consultations had been held with the public at large with a view to ratifying the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. Although a growing number of initiatives sought to legalize abortion, the public remained reluctant to do so. 116. In order to more effectively combat child labour, a draft decree had been drawn up to strengthen the authority of labour inspectors and to ensure the application of the penalties provided for in the Labour Code and the criminal sanctions provided for in Decree No. 2018-009 of 11 January 2018. 117. Women’s political freedom and right to participate in public affairs were enshrined in the Constitution and further upheld in the laws on political parties and on the status of opposition parties. Madagascar currently had 6 women ministers, 29 women deputies, 13 women senators and 67 women mayors. 118. The Government had taken steps to ensure access to high-quality health services, with a view to achieving significant health gains and improving the quality of life and wellbeing of the people of Madagascar. Several measures had been considered, including the introduction of free health care for children under 5 years of age, persons over 65 years of age and pregnant women. To improve geographic access to health care, the budget for the health sector had been increased. Possible uses for the additional funds included the creation of mobile health units, supplied with the necessary equipment, in various districts and municipalities. The construction of new hospitals and the renovation of dilapidated facilities were also. 119. Steps had been taken to eliminate discrimination in all its forms. Discrimination was already punishable under the Constitution; therefore, before drafting a specific antidiscrimination law, the Government had opted for a targeted approach that involved proposing a law on gender-based discrimination for adoption by the competent institutions; effectively applying the legal provisions already in place; training law enforcement officials; raising public awareness; and widely disseminating all the necessary tools. 120. In conclusion, the Malagasy delegation stressed that the Government had given due weight to the comments received during the dialogue. It had fulfilled most of its previous 10 GE.19-21780