E/C.12/BLR/CO/4-6 (d) United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, on 25 June 2003; (e) 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, on 23 August 2001; (f) International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 182 (1999) concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, on 31 October 2000; (g) ILO Convention No. 155 (1981) concerning Occupational Safety and Health and the Working Environment, on 30 May 2000. 4. The Committee takes note with appreciation of the State party’s measures to promote economic, social and cultural rights, including the: (a) mortality; Steps that led to the significant decline in infant, child and maternal (b) Entry into force in 2009 of the Law (No. 354-Z) on Granting Refugee Status, Complementary and Temporary Protection to Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons; (c) Adoption in 2010 of the Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Nationals and Stateless Persons; (d) C. Adoption in 2011 of the Education Code (No. 243-3). Principal subjects of concern and recommendations 5. The Committee regrets the lack of references to Covenant provisions by domestic courts, despite the fact that international treaties form part of the domestic legal order of the State party (art. 1). The Committee recommends that the State party undertake to raise awareness of economic, social and cultural rights, as contained in the Covenant, and their justiciability, in particular among the judiciary, lawyers, law enforcement officials and other actors responsible for the implementation of the Covenant, and among rights holders. The Committee requests the State party to submit in its next periodic report information on cases before the courts in which the provisions of the Covenant have been invoked. The Committee also draws the State party’s attention to its general comment No. 9 (1998) on the domestic application of the Covenant. 6. The Committee is concerned that the independence of the judiciary from the executive branch is not fully ensured in practice, despite the proclamation of principles safeguarding judicial independence in the Constitution and other laws such as the Code on the Judicial System and the Status of Judges of 2007. In particular, the Committee is concerned that the President, as the Head of the Executive, not only appoints, but may also dismiss and otherwise determine the status of judges (art. 2). The Committee urges the State party to take all the necessary legislative and other measures in order to guarantee the full independence and impartiality of the judiciary in line with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary (endorsed by General Assembly resolutions 40/32 and 40/146), including by establishing an independent body responsible for the appointment, promotion, suspension and removal of judges. 2