A/72/219 C. Constitutional guarantees 17. It is crucial that persons belonging to minorities are included in the process of drafting legislation and that their rights are reflected in the resulting normative frameworks, starting with national constitutions. In order to encourage such processes, the United Nations has taken various initiatives in different regions. For example, the United Nations Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre for South-West Asia and the Arab Region has organized regional expert consultations on integrating minority rights in constitutional reform processes. The most recent consultation took place in July 2016 in Amman, where experts examined constitutional reforms in the region and explored how the rights of persons belonging to minorities could be protected more effectively. 16 18. In this respect, a number of States also reported on measures that they have employed to strengthen pertinent norms. Armenia, for example, reported that its constitutional amendments introduced in December 2015 had provided a more comprehensive protection of human rights generally and allowed for the introduction of national minority seats in the National Assembly. 17 The importance of constitutional reform processes for minorities has also been stressed in Sri Lanka, including by the High Commissioner for Human Rights who, at the conclusion of his visit in February 2016, expressed his hope that minorities and other groups who had been neglected or discriminated against could now receive the attention that they deserved, not least in the constitutional reform process. 18 The Special Rapporteur on minority issues also underlined the importance of the constitutional reform process following her visit to the country in October 2016. She urged Sri Lanka to introduce a strong minority rights regime in the governance structure as well as legal and institutional guarantees for equality and non-discrimination. 19 D. Non-discrimination guarantees 19. While the rights of persons belonging to minorities stipulated in the Declaration and other international human rights instruments extend beyond non-discrimination, they are grounded in strong anti-discrimination guarantees. The need to address intersecting forms of discrimination has been repeatedly stressed by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. In its general recommendation No. 34 (2016) on the rights of rural women, 20 the Committee urged States parties to ensure that disadvantaged and marginalized groups of rural women, including those belonging to afro-descendent, ethnic and religious minorities, are protected from intersecting forms of discrimination and have access to education, employment, water and sanitation and health care. 20. Several Member States are in the process of introducing or reinforcing antidiscrimination legislation, often reflecting recommendations made by human rights mechanisms. For example, in Tunisia, OHCHR has supported the preparation of a law on racial discrimination, in line with a recommendation made by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. 21 The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines reported that the House of Representatives is deliberating eight draft laws that aim to address multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including __________________ 16 17 18 19 20 21 6/12 Submission by the United Nations Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre for South West Asia and the Arab Region. Submission by Armenia. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=17025&LangID=E. See A/HRC/34/53/Add.3. CEDAW/C/GC/34. Submission by Tunisia. 17-12826