A/HRC/42/8 8. Twenty-one fundamental rights and freedoms had been incorporated into the Constitution of Bhutan. As regards the legal framework, the Government had conducted a national review of legislation to harmonize conflicting laws. Additionally, nine relevant laws had been enacted by Parliament with a view to defining further the rights and responsibilities of people. 9. Furthermore, the national protocol for policy formulation required gender, environment, climate change and poverty considerations to be mainstreamed into national policies. 10. The Government had made notable efforts to create the necessary judicial infrastructure and had enhanced the human resources capacity of the judiciary so that the delivery of justice was more efficient. While Bhutan recognized that more needed to be done, it remained committed to improving efficiency in the delivery of justice. 11. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had recognized the progress achieved in the country since its previous visit in 1996. Bhutan had already considered and in some cases implemented its recommendations. 12. The National Education Policy had been put in place to serve as a road map to achieve universal access to free and equitable education. In addition, the establishment of school infrastructure had improved access to education for children from rural areas, while the early childhood care and development centres had made education more inclusive. The Government had been working to maintain the relevance and quality of education by updating the curriculum, and introducing the central schools system and professional development programmes for teachers. The primary school enrolment rate stood at 98.8 per cent, while adults, mostly women, who had missed the opportunity to pursue formal schooling, were provided with access to non-formal education programmes. 13. Sustained provision of free health services had been a policy preceding the Constitution of Bhutan. In that regard, the Bhutan Health Trust Fund had been established to fund the purchase of essential medicines and vaccines. An integrated three-tier health system was addressing the needs of people. Although the doctor-patient ratio had seen a steady improvement, there was still a shortage of doctors. In order to fill the gap in other categories of health workers, the Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan had been established, and nursing programmes had been introduced. The Government would be investing resources to establish specialty care facilities closer to the people. 14. To address the issue of poverty, Bhutan had adopted a two-pronged approach, reflected in the broad-based programmes in areas such as education, health, social infrastructure and agriculture, as well as in targeted poverty reduction initiatives. Overall, significant progress had been achieved in reducing poverty. 15. The Government was putting in place policy measures and interventions to deal with unemployment and trafficking in persons. 16. Regarding the rights of women, gender parity in education at the basic level, and at the higher, secondary level, had been more or less achieved. Women’s turnout as voters in elections had been marked by considerable progress; however the representation of women in public institutions had remained low, and the Government was determined to change that situation. The gender disparity was an issue which was related to access to opportunities in the past, rather than to gender discrimination. 17. Bhutan was a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols. In addition, policy initiatives, such as for extended maternity leave, and for the establishment of early childhood care and development centres, and of nurseries in workplaces, had been put in place. 18. Concerning the rights of persons with disabilities, a National Policy for Persons with Disabilities had been drafted based on a needs assessment survey, which was aligned with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A national interest analysis concerning ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had been submitted to the Government. 3