A/HRC/26/7 107. Daniela Payssé, a member of the Uruguayan Parliament, said that, historically, in Uruguay the age for marriage had been 12 years for girls and 14 for boys. Through the adoption of Law No. 19.119 on Equal Marriage, the age for marriage had been raised to 16 years. Uruguay recognized that international standards set the age at 18 years; the State had a strong will to align its legislation with international standards. 108. Andrés Scagliola, Director of Social Policy in the Ministry of Social Development, indicated that Uruguay was experiencing a sustained reduction in poverty, driven largely by the doubling of social public expenditure between 2005 and 2012 and the redirecting of policies. Government action included the reform of the Comprehensive National Health System, a budgetary increase for education, the new scheme for economic transfers for families in situations of poverty with dependent children, and the extension of the Comprehensive Child and Family Support Centre Plan (CAIF). Uruguay would continue to work on the National Strategy for Children and Adolescents; the objectives of the strategy would extend to 2030. 109. Regarding issues relating to juvenile justice, Ms. Payssé indicated that, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a system of criminal liability had been established that provided the system for juvenile offenders with a socioeducational focus in line with the paradigm of overall protection promoted by the United Nations. The statistics were encouraging in terms of the ratio between the number of minors deprived of their liberty and the number of minors for whom alternative measures had been applied. There was political will to develop the system and provide it with a proper institutional framework. Amendments had also been made to the Code on Children and Adolescents in line with the strong approach taken regarding the strategy for life and living together, including legislative tools, public policies and intervention at the urban level in areas where living together was quite complex. A draft code of criminal responsibility for adolescents had been submitted to the parliament, which would be analysing its content; one benefit of the draft code was that it would replace the inquiry method with an accusatory method that would meet international standards. Much remained to be done, but progress was being made. 110. Responding to a concern raised by Israel about the registration of children and adolescents, Ms. Payssé said that Uruguay issued certificates of live birth by law. Under the system, prior to leaving the health facility in which the birth took place, a newborn was issued not only with a birth certificate but also with an identity number (DNI). As most births took place in health facilities, there was almost no underregistration in Uruguay to speak of; the rate of unregistered births was well below 2 per cent. All registered children were provided with access to the social policies. Moreover, through programmes implemented under the National Institute for Women, it had been possible to reach families who, for whatever reason, had not registered their children. 111. Regarding the participation of women in decision-making roles and their political participation, Uruguay would apply, in the 2014 elections only, a law stipulating that the lists must contain two persons of one gender and one of another, both for representatives and alternates. The implementation by political parties had yet to be seen. 112. Ambassador Ricardo González Arenas, Director-General for Political Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to a question concerning domestic violence. Numerous measures had progressively been taken to counteract the phenomenon and to develop a legislative framework and institutions that guaranteed human rights, the protection of victims and the prosecution and accountability of the perpetrators of such crimes. 113. Gabriela Fulco, an adviser with the Ministry of the Interior, referred to the concerns raised by several delegations about the prison system. The attention that the previous two 12