A/HRC/19/22 44. In its report on Cyprus of 23 March 2011, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance noted that a number of positive measures had been taken in favour of Turkish Cypriots in the field of education, such as free education in any public or private school (including the prestigious bicommunal English School in Nicosia), free meals provided to all Turkish speaking pupils in public schools, and free Turkish and Greek language classes offered to Turkish Cypriot children and their parents in adult education centres.60 Moreover, the Commission was pleased to learn about new history textbooks, to be introduced in the school year 2011-2012, which would reflect the diversity and plurality of society and include specific references to the two communities of Cyprus. 61 The Commission also highlighted, however, the disproportionately high concentration of Turkish Cypriot children in particular schools and, in this context, strongly recommended that the authorities review the way in which pupils are admitted to schools in order to eliminate any discriminatory practices and take other necessary measures to ensure a more even distribution of Greek-speaking and non-Greek-speaking children in different schools. H. Gender perspective 45. In its resolution 1325 (2000), the Security Council called on all actors involved, when negotiating and implementing peace agreements, to adopt a gender perspective, including, inter alia: (a) The special needs of women and girls during repatriation and resettlement and for rehabilitation, reintegration and post-conflict reconstruction; (b) Measures that support local women’s peace initiatives and indigenous processes for conflict resolution, and that involve women in all of the implementation mechanisms of the peace agreements; (c) Measures that ensure the protection of and respect for human rights of women and girls, particularly as they relate to the constitution, the electoral system, the police and the judiciary. 46. The Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus is working closely with the United Nations Development Programme and an expert group comprising Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot women, known as the Gender Advisory Team, to promote the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). The Team was formed in response to concerns about the inclusion of gender issues and women’s rights in the peace process and overall peacebuilding efforts in Cyprus. The Team’s civil society activists and scholars from across the island have been meeting since October 2009 to develop gender-focused recommendations relating to the main areas under discussion in negotiations. Recent activities undertaken by the Team included a written submission to the leaders setting out the key principles of gender equality; the formal presentation to the two leaders of a poster on the tenth anniversary of the adoption of resolution 1325 (2000), which now hangs in the foyer of the negotiating room; the placement of a billboard at the Ledra Street/Lokmaçı crossing inviting the public to express their views by writing their answers to the question, “What does peace mean to you?” directly on the billboard; and the circulation of a petition calling for the negotiators to integrate a gender perspective in the peace talks “because women have a different experience of conflict, of security, of property issues, of peace and development”.62 60 61 62 European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, report on Cyprus (see footnote 28), para. 65. Ibid., para. 223. Information received from the Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus. 15