Indeed, besides the National Police College, which has been open to women for more than twenty years now, the entrance examination to the Gendarmerie Academy and the EMPT at Bingerville can now be accessed by girls. It must also be underscored that several women are occupying decision-making positions. Some of these positions include the Grand Chancellor, the President of the Félix Houphouët Boigny University, the Director of the School of Administration, the President of the CNDHCI, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and the President of the PNCS. Several women are heads of institutions such as the Coffee and Cocoa Council (to be developed). The Military High Command has women among its senior officers including an Army General. Many women have also been appointed to the position of Prefects and Sub-prefects. Furthermore, the Government established a body in November 2012, and among its membership are 5 women out of a total of 32, i.e 15% of the membership. It must also be noted that the parliamentary elections of 11 November 2011 recorded an increase in the number of women elected to the National Assembly from 19 to 27 seats. Finally, Côte d’Ivoire has adopted a proactive policy for the promotion of its female citizens to the international arena. It is against this background that the government supported the candidature of Professor N’dri Yoman (former Minister of Health) in vying for the position of the Head of the Africa Office of the World Health Organisation (WHO). On the whole, the Ivorian government has made efforts in recent years to improve the living conditions of women by enabling them to gradually take a significant part in the political affairs of the country. Recommendation XI. Abrogate all discriminatory provisions in the legislation against women and accelerate the on-going civil law review since 2008 on the rights of persons and the family. The Ivorian Constitution of August 2000 establishes equality between men and women. Parliament passed a new legislation on 21 November 2012 to amend Law No. 64-375 of 7 October 1964 on marriage to align it with Ivorian Law and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Diiscrimination against Women, which was ratified by our country on 18 December 1995. Thus, Law No. 2013-33 of 25 January 2013 on the abrogation of Article 53, amending Articles 58, 59, 60 and 67 of Law No. 64-375 of 7 October 1964 on marriage as amended by Law No. 83-800 of 2 August 1983 was adopted to safeguard the principle of joint management by spouses and the elimination of the notion of family head. The spouses contribute to family responsibilities according to their respective abilities and agree on a family home by common consent. The new matrimonial law (which abolishes paternal authority in favour of parental authority) has had, among others, the effect of improving the income of female salaried employees. Henceforth, men and women couples are subject to the same income tax deductions. Recommendation XII. Adopt legislative measures and introduce relevant programmes to resolve the issue of sexual and domestic violence with specific emphasis on the protection of young girls. In the light of the following, it can be observed that Côte d’Ivoire is fully engaged in the global fight initiated under United Nations General Assembly Resolution III of 20 December 2012 on the “intensification of global action for the elimination of female genital mutilation” and other forms of discrimination perpetrated against women. The evidence is that the Government has ratified several international conventions on gender equality, decision-making and punishment for violence meted out to women. Among these are the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Maputo Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the rights of women in Africa. Moreover, at the national level, the principle of equality between men and women has been strengthened in the Constitution of 1st August 2000 which established in Article 2 (paragraph 2) that “All human beings are born free and equal under the law. They shall enjoy inalienable rights which include the right to life, liberty, development of their personality and to the respect of their dignity”. 12