CCPR/CO/78/SVK page 2 legislation into harmony with its international obligations. This includes Constitutional Statute No. 90/2001, amending and supplementing the Constitution of the Slovak Republic; the amendment of the criminal code eliminating the crime of defamation of the Republic and its representatives; the amendment of the labour code to include non-discrimination principles, including in the area of sexual orientation; and the amendments to the Criminal Code to improve protection of the victim in domestic violence cases. 5. The Committee welcomes the fact that Slovakia has ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant. 6. The Committee welcomes the explanation provided in the report and confirmed by the delegation that the State party interprets succession to mean the continuity of its obligations under the Covenant, including in relation to any cases submitted under the Optional Protocol, irrespective of the date of deposition of the instrument of succession by the State party following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia and the creation of the Slovak Republic. C. Principal Subjects of Concern and Recommendations 7. While welcoming the creation of the institution of Ombudsman and the election of an Ombudsman, the Committee regrets that it has received insufficient information on the nature of the complaints submitted to and processed by the Ombudsman, so as to assess the scope and effectiveness of the activities of this new institution. The State party should ensure the effectiveness of the Ombudsman, as an independent monitoring mechanism for the implementation of Covenant rights, particularly in the area of discrimination. It requests the State party to provide the Committee with the annual reports of the Ombudsman when submitting the third periodic report. 8. The Committee observes that the proposed draft equal treatment law has not been adopted. While noting the information provided by the delegation that existing anti-discrimination laws enable the addressing of possible instances of discrimination, the Committee regrets that the delegation did not provide any statistics on the number of complaints launched, the grounds for the complaints, as well as the outcomes. The State party should continue with further measures to ensure the effectiveness of legislation against discrimination. It should also adopt further legislation in fields not covered by the current legislation in order to ensure full compliance with articles 2, 3 and 26 of the Covenant. The Committee urges the State party to establish adequate monitoring and redress mechanisms which provide ready access to individuals, in particular from vulnerable groups. 9. The Committee is concerned at reports of high rates of domestic violence and regrets that the statistics provided by the State party were inconclusive. While noting some positive steps taken by the State party in the area of legislation, the Committee regrets that the adoption of the National Strategy for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence Committed against Women and in Families has been delayed (arts. 3, 9, 26). The State party should adopt the necessary policy and legal framework to combat domestic violence; specifically, it should provide a framework for the protection of a spouse who is