A/HRC/23/31 developing human rights-compliant legislation and the capacity of government, state and civil society entities to promote and protect human rights. The incorporation of benchmarks within such a plan would allow stakeholders to assess progress and to identify any obstacles to be overcome. The plan could also identify support that might be needed from the international community. 68. The agenda also emphasizes government support for the Human Rights Forum, which brings together human rights stakeholders, including government representatives, civil society and development partners to regularly dialogue on developing issues of human rights concern. The agenda was presented to the Forum in December 2012. The Forum itself could become an excellent vehicle for consultations on the development of the plan for the agenda. G. Gender-awareness programmes 69. Since independence, significant potential for gender equality and respect for women’s rights has emerged in South Sudan. Women have taken an increasingly active role in society, although gender disparities remain evident in key poverty indicators, including a female illiteracy rate as high as 86 per cent. Lack of education and access to health services, combined with early marriage, have resulted in extremely high rates of infant mortality and one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Sexual and gender-based violence persists, with perpetrators enjoying a high degree of impunity. 70. As a mechanism to increase gender awareness, peace forums were held nationwide on Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security, to engage citizens in discussions on sexual and gender-based violence. In August 2012, the SPLA leadership agreed for the first time to undergo training on gender mainstreaming, which UNMISS facilitated for 26 officers, after which commanders pledged to undertake gender mainstreaming within the SPLA. 71. With regard to the promotion of girl-child education, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Ministry of General Education and Instruction are finalizing a national strategic plan on girl-child education that is expected to be launched and disseminated by July 2013. Through media and public events, advocacy efforts by the Government and other stakeholders are ongoing to support the enrolment and retention of the girl-child in school. 72. The Government has taken some steps towards ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by establishing a working group that brings together the relevant directorate in the Ministry of Justice, UNMISS and United Nations agencies. The working group is undertaking preparatory work on Convention accession documents and conducting awareness-raising for stakeholders to improve their understanding of its provisions and to promote further harmonization with national legislation. Continued advocacy efforts are needed not only to create greater public awareness of the importance of ratifying the Convention but also to build parliamentary support for its ratification. V. Conclusion and recommendations 73. In the two years since independence, South Sudan has taken important strides in its efforts to lay down the foundations of a new country and to establish the institutions necessary to respond to the needs of its population. In the area of human rights, some progress has been made at the institutional and legislative levels, but actual implementation of measures remains extremely weak. 14