A/HRC/39/9 82. Israel commended Germany for its national action plans against racism and human trafficking and its efforts to combat anti-Semitism. 83. In response to questions and comments, the delegation of Germany stated that the National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights contained 50 measures that addressed a range of issues, such as procurement by companies, including those under State ownership. The Interministerial Committee for Business and Human Rights would be responsible for monitoring and implementing the Plan. A number of measures had been introduced to promote equal opportunities and to close the gender pay gap, which included further development of childcare support for parents, the promotion of equal participation of men and women in managerial positions and the introduction of measures to promote pay transparency. 84. The Government had taken initiatives to combat racism and extremism at the federal, lander and municipal levels of governance. Those measures included the allocation of funds and the amendment of legislation to ensure more effective prosecution of racist crimes, racist remarks and hate speech. Furthermore, the Network Enforcement Act, which came into effect on 1 October 2017, had placed an obligation on social networks with more than 2 million registered users in Germany to provide an effective complaints mechanism for specific illegal content and to delete manifestly unlawful content within 24 hours of being reported. 85. Police controls were conducted on the basis of police findings and objective criteria that could be reviewed by courts. That meant that the look of a person could not be the sole factor for performing police measures. 86. In 2017, about 290,000 people had participated in government-financed language and integration courses for the first time. To enable parents to attend the language courses, childcare facilities had been provided. Migration counselling had also been made available for adults. 87. It was important for Germany to work towards a society that accepted, supported and promoted sexual and gender diversity. Following rulings from the Federal Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Germany, the Government had intended to introduce into law the option of a third gender. Intersex children were better protected against irreversible and unnecessary medical interventions. 88. Measures had been taken to protect children against sexual violence and exploitation, including a revision of the relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure to offer better protection to children throughout court proceedings. Therapy services for victims had also improved. 89. A national federal cooperation network had been established to assist in the prevention of the exploitation of children, including the coordinated cooperation of youth welfare offices, police and counselling agencies. 90. Democracy and human rights education was part of the curricula at all school levels. Universities also had research priorities and chairs specially dedicated to human rights education and research. 91. In 2018, Germany celebrated 100 years of women’s suffrage. However, there had been setbacks in the political participation of women at the federal level. 92. There was a diversified system of assistance for women victims of violence. There were 350 women shelters and more than 40 protective apartments with more than 6,000 spaces that could accommodate about 30,000 people, including the children of victims. There were also 750 specialized agencies for counselling. 93. Italy appreciated the attention given by Germany to human rights education and the efforts to combat racism with the adoption of a new national action plan. 94. Japan commended Germany for its initiatives relating to the rights of women and children and the establishment of a child rights monitoring institution. 7