A/HRC/31/56 consider including caste-specific indicators to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals and their targets address the situation of affected groups. 127. The Special Rapporteur believes that relevant elements and standards emanating from the minority rights framework, including equality, non-discrimination, consultation, participation and special measures, can contribute to the protection of the rights of caste-affected communities and should be applied to combat discrimination based on caste and analogous systems. 128. States should adopt specific legislation prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of caste and/or analogous systems. Existing legal frameworks to combat caste discrimination must be adequately and fully implemented and include appropriate penalties for acts of caste-based discrimination. 129. States should conduct awareness-raising campaigns at the national and local levels, targeting both affected communities and the wider public to sensitize them against caste discrimination and analogous forms of such discrimination. These campaigns should inform the public about the various manifestations, legal prohibitions and penalties associated with caste discrimination, and victims should be informed of their rights and available means of legal recourse to bring to light castebased discriminatory practices and obtain redress. 130. Comprehensive national action plans and budgets to combat discrimination based on caste and analogous systems should be urgently developed and implemented in caste-affected countries. Plans should have clear objectives and measures in a wide range of areas, including poverty reduction strategies, employment, health, housing, education and access to basic services, including water and sanitation. They should include specific attention to the issues of caste-affected women, be developed in coordination with affected groups and local organizations working with them and be provided with sufficient funding. Their progress should be regularly monitored. 131. Special measures, including reservations, quota systems and/or schemes, should be put into place and enforced in specific areas, including employment, education, and public and political institutions, in order to guarantee the effective participation and representation of affected communities in public life. 132. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable to caste discrimination, as they suffer from multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination owing to both their gender and unprivileged caste status. They are disproportionately subjected to dire human rights violations, including violence and, particularly, sexual violence, trafficking, early and/or forced marriage and harmful traditional practices. They face obstacles in accessing justice and redress and are excluded or relegated to a secondary or subordinate role in decision-making processes. Caste-affected States should urgently take robust action to eradicate such violations through, inter alia, the enactment and effective implementation of specific legislation and the adoption of special measures, policies and programmes to address the entrenched situation of marginalization and exclusion experienced by women and girls owing to their caste status. 133. Ad hoc supervisory bodies or specific departments in national human rights institutions should be established to address and monitor caste-based discrimination, where relevant. They should analyse existing domestic legislation, and recommend programmes and provide advice on public policies to enhance the implementation of non-discrimination legislation. They should provide complaint-handling services, including by receiving complaints, conducting investigations and initiating or pursuing legal actions in relation to cases involving caste-based discrimination. These 24