A/HRC/37/7 or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Prior to that, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, an independent constitutional body that met the criteria for national human rights institutions under the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), had been discharging the responsibility of a national preventive mechanism by monitoring detention facilities, especially prisons and police cells. The Office of the Attorney-General would take the necessary action to seek Cabinet and Parliamentary approval to amend the Commission’s mandate to enable it to undertake the additional responsibilities as a national preventive mechanism before the end of the current Parliament. 10. In December 2016, the people of Ghana had elected the President and 275 parliamentarians in elections that had been rated internationally as peaceful, transparent and inclusive. 11. In line with its commitment to abolish the death penalty, Ghana had voted in favour of Council resolution 36/17 entitled “The question of the death penalty” during the thirtysixth Council session. On 24 April 2014, Cabinet had approved the abolition of the death penalty. The penalty had, however, remained on statute books because it was an entrenched provision in the Constitution, hence the need to overcome a number of legal hurdles, including by holding a national referendum. 12. Amnesty International (Ghana), in partnership with the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, the Ghana Prisons Service and civil society organizations, had been spearheading an advocacy campaign aimed at abolishing the death penalty. The group was currently engaging the Government to put in place a formal moratorium on the death penalty. 13. The Government had tasked a small committee to review the large number of proposed amendments to the Constitution with a view to continuing the work done by the previous Constitutional Review Implementation Committee. 14. The Implementation Committee had, nonetheless, sponsored the passage of the Head of Family Accountability Bill, the Labour (Amendment) Bill, the Armed Forces (Amendment) Bill, the Internal Audit Agency (Amendment) Bill, the Ghana Immigration Service (Amendment) Bill and the Ghana Revenue Authority (Amendment) Bill. 15. Proposed amendments to the Persons with Disability Act (2006), to make it consistent with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, had been made as of September 2017. Consultations had been held with stakeholders and it was expected that the amendments would be passed into law by the end of 2018. 16. Regarding women’s and children’s rights, the Office of the Attorney-General together with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection were jointly sponsoring an amendment to the Intestate Succession Act, 1985 to ensure that the same law applied to all couples, regardless of the type of marriage contracted or the inheritance system to which they belonged. 17. A National Gender Equality Bill to ensure women’s participation in decisionmaking and politics was being prepared for Cabinet approval for passage by Parliament by the end of 2018. 18. Article 18 of the Constitution made provision for every Ghanaian, irrespective of gender, to own property. Pursuant to that provision, a bill was currently before Parliament to regulate the sharing of spousal property upon death or divorce in order to protect the rights of women in cohabitation relationships and children born outside marriage. 19. To ensure that every reported case of domestic violence, including female genital mutilation, was investigated and prosecuted, the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service had put in place a number of systems, including a referral system that provided victims with counselling, medical and legal assistance. 20. The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection also operated public and supported private shelters to provide care and rehabilitation services for victims of abuse and trafficking. 3