- 47 - 221. With regard to the promotion of human rights, the Committee commends the activities of the Norwegian Institute for Human Rights, such as the organization of seminars, teaching in universities, the conducting of research, the publishing of books and periodicals, and the provision of advice and information material to the public at large, both nationally and internationally. D. Principal subjects of concern 222. The Committee regrets the lack of statistical information gathered by the Norwegian Government with regard, in particular, to domestic violence and child abuse, a situation which may hinder the efforts of the Government to take the exact measure of these problems and thus combat them efficiently. 223. The Committee is concerned that, although it is effective in the law, equality between men and women, especially with regard to remuneration, is not yet fully achieved in practice, and that women still experience more obstacles than men in advancing to higher professional positions. 224. The Committee expresses its concern about the provisions in the Labour Disputes Act enabling the Government, with the agreement of the Storting, to end a strike by the enactment of a bill imposing compulsory arbitration, even though the Government has only very seldom made use of this power. E. Suggestions and recommendations 225. The Committee encourages the Government to collect statistical data on domestic violence and child abuse to identify the magnitude of these negative phenomena, and thus to ensure that the rights of the affected persons are fully protected in accordance with the provisions of the Covenant. 226. The Committee recommends that the Government intensify its efforts to ensure that equality between men and women, in particular with regard to labour matters, is effective in practice. 227. The Committee recommends that, in the process of revising the Labour Disputes Act, the need to protect the right to strike be fully taken into account. MAURITIUS 228. The Committee considered the initial report of Mauritius on articles 1 to 15 of the Covenant (E/1990/5/Add.21) at its 40th, 41st and 43rd meetings on 27 and 28 November 1995 and, at its 55th meeting on 6 December 1995, adopted the following concluding observations. A. Introduction 229. The Committee welcomes the comprehensive initial report of the State party, prepared in accordance with its revised general guidelines, which was submitted shortly after substantive concluding observations were adopted by the Committee in May 1994. The Committee recalls that, prior to this, Mauritius had not fulfilled its reporting obligations under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant since it became a State party on 3 January 1976. In the