A/HRC/44/15 (d) Accession to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in July 2019; (e) the Child; Ratification of the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of (f) Completion of the national human rights institution scoping study in September and October 2019; (g) Launching of the Kiribati National Disability Policy in 2018; (h) Launching of Development Policy in 2019. the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment 8. The delegation highlighted the following legislative changes that had occurred since the last review: (a) The Juvenile Justice Act (2015); (b) The Employment and Industrial Relations Code (2015); (c) The Occupational Health and Safety Act (2015); (d) (2016); (e) The amendment of the Constitution to establish the Ministry of Justice The Early Childhood Care and Education Act (2017); (f) The Penal Code (Amendment) Act 2017 to amend the provision of rape and associated sexual assault offences; (g) The Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Act (2019). 9. The delegation explained that as far as non-discrimination was concerned, it was often difficult for people not familiar with the country’s traditional system to appreciate that a blind push for gender equality in certain fields of human endeavour could upset the delicate balance upon which the fabric of the society of Kiribati rested and upon which the peace, harmony and happiness that those people had enjoyed since time immemorial depended. In that light, gender equality in Kiribati was therefore easily accepted in the more modern human activities such as education, employment and commerce, but less so in traditional contexts where the roles of men and women were clearly defined and differentiated. However, with the passing of time, the two systems (the traditional and the modern) had interfaced and overlapped more and more in an increasing number of human activities towards gender equality. 10. The delegation said that the Government was promoting gender equality not through a top-down imposition of laws and policies but by supporting the peaceful coexistence of the two systems (the modern for the urban and the traditional for the rural) and encouraging the adoption of a bottom-up approach in the reform of gender-related values and norms in a cautious manner. Using that bottom-up approach, the Government had succeeded in promoting gender equality in the Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Act of 2019, which mainstreamed the needs of women, children and people with disabilities. 11. It was hoped that, using the same approach, the existing gender inequality over citizenship and land ownership would be eliminated once people realized and agreed that the cultural contexts in which such inequalities had once been justified had changed under the impact of industrialization and globalization. 12. The delegation was pleased to report that the rights of newborns to citizenship had been addressed with the posting of two Civil Registry staff in the Obstetric Ward to oversee the registration of newborns at the main hospitals and the introduction of a similar requirement for all medical assistants in the outer islands. 13. With regard to the rights of LGBTIQ persons, the delegation stated that the question was becoming an emerging issue. The Government was seriously studying the issue in the face of much cultural resistance and believed the issue could be best handled through a cautious bottom-up approach. 3