A/HRC/13/28 reporting secretariat of the Ministry. Technical support was provided to the Ministry to prepare a common-core document, to be submitted to treaty bodies; and a draft of the document was completed and circulated to various stakeholders for comment. Plans are under way to prepare the pending reports under various human rights treaties. Steps are also being taken to prepare the sixth report to be submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and a secretariat for relevant matters has been established in the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs. Progress was also made in the ratification of key international human rights treaties: the Parliament ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 6. Provincial and district security committees 60. The Human Rights Section regularly participated in district and provincial security committee meetings, which remained significant forums for bringing human rights issues to the attention of relevant government authorities. Issues such as sexual violence, ritual murder, prison conditions, the shortage of magistrates, delays in trials, threats against human rights defenders and forceful initiation into secret societies were discussed at the meetings, and strategies to address them were elaborated. The Human Rights Section also provided advisory and technical support with regard to the actions taken by the committees in addressing human rights issues. For example, the provincial security committee for the southern region discussed, with traditional leaders, the increasing incidence of ritual murder in Moamba district; the committee also formed a task force to look into teenage pregnancy and prison conditions in Bo. 7. Collaboration with the United Nations country team and other international partners 61. Human rights activities were carried out in close collaboration with the United Nations country team. The Human Rights Section participated in regular country team meetings and worked closely with its members in mainstreaming human rights in all activities of the United Nations Family. Contributions were also made to the Joint Vision initiative with the aim of mainstreaming human rights, and the country team was updated regularly on human rights issues. The Human Rights Section also collaborated with international non-governmental organizations and partners, including Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee, ActionAid, the Justice Sector Development Programme (see paragraph 32 above), Irish Aid, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the European Union on human rights and rule of law issues. V. Conclusions and recommendations 62. Significant progress has been noted in the protection and promotion of human rights, particularly in the area of national capacity-building. The Human Rights Commission has demonstrated the important role that it has to play, and made several important interventions, including issuing press statements to highlight ongoing violations and publishing the annual report on the state of human rights, which contained recommendations addressed to the Government of Sierra Leone on how to improve the promotion and protection of human rights. Civil society organizations are also active in raising pertinent human rights issues. The progress made in implementing the reparations programme for war victims is also significant. The ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the progress made in the area of treaty reporting are also positive developments. Nonetheless challenges remain. 63. The nature of human rights violations in Sierra Leone is more structural than systematic. Prevailing socio-economic conditions, including poverty, unemployment GE.10-10771 15