CCPR/C/79/Add.102 page 2 Employment Opportunities Law, the Standard Labour Law, the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, the Penal Code, the Child Welfare Law, the Election Law and the Entertainment Business Law, and the draft bill aimed at punishing Japanese nationals involved in child prostitution and child pornography. 4. The Committee notes with satisfaction the establishment, at Cabinet level, of the Council for the Promotion of Gender Equality, aimed at investigating and developing policies for the achievement of a gender-equal society and its adoption of the Plan for Gender Equality 2000. The Committee also notes the measures being taken by the human rights organs of the Ministry of Justice to deal with the elimination of discrimination and prejudice against students at Korean schools in Japan, children born out of wedlock and children of the Ainu minority. 5. The Committee welcomes the abolition of restrictions on women’s eligibility to take the national public service examination, the abolition of discriminatory compulsory retirement, and of dismissals on grounds of marriage, pregnancy or childbirth. C. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations 6. The Committee regrets that its recommendations issued after the consideration of the third periodic report have largely not been implemented. 7. The Committee stresses that protection of human rights and human rights standards are not determined by popularity polls. It is concerned by the repeated use of popularity statistics to justify attitudes of the State party that may violate its obligations under the Covenant. 8. The Committee reiterates its concern about the restrictions which can be placed on the rights guaranteed in the Covenant on the grounds of “public welfare”, a concept which is vague and open-ended and which may permit restrictions exceeding those permissible under the Covenant. Following upon its previous observations, the Committee once again strongly recommends to the State party to bring its internal law into conformity with the Covenant. 9. The Committee is concerned about the lack of institutional mechanisms available for investigating violations of human rights and for providing redress to the complainants. Effective institutional mechanisms are required to ensure that the authorities do not abuse their power and that they respect the rights of individuals in practice. The Committee is of the view that the Civil Liberties Commission is not such a mechanism, since it is supervised by the Ministry of Justice and its powers are strictly limited to issuing recommendations. The Committee strongly recommends to the State party to set up an independent mechanism for investigating complaints of violations of human rights. 10. More particularly, the Committee is concerned that there is no independent authority to which complaints of ill-treatment by the police and immigration officials can be addressed for investigation and redress. The Committee recommends that such an independent body or authority be set up by the State party without delay.