CCPR/C/JPN/CO/6 (d) The amendment of the Nationality Act in 2008 and of the Civil Code in 2013, which removed discriminatory provisions against children born out of wedlock. 4. The Committee welcomes the ratification by the State party of the following international instruments: (a) International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, in 2009; (b) C. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in 2014. Principal matters of concern and recommendations Previous concluding observations 5. The Committee is concerned that many of the recommendations made after the consideration of the State party’s fourth and fifth periodic reports have not been implemented. The State party should give effect to the recommendations adopted by the Committee that are contained in the present concluding observations, as well as those in its previous concluding observations. Applicability of the Covenant rights by national courts 6. While noting that treaties ratified by the State party have the effect of domestic law, the Committee is concerned at the restricted number of cases in which the rights protected under the Covenant have been applied by courts (art. 2). The Committee reiterates its recommendation (see CCPR/C/JPN/CO/5, para. 7) and calls upon the State party to ensure that the application and interpretation of the Covenant form part of the professional training of lawyers, judges and prosecutors at all levels, including the lower instances. The State party should also ensure that effective remedies are available for violations of the rights protected under the Covenant. The State party should consider acceding to the Optional Protocol to the Covenant, which provides for an individual communication procedure. National human rights institution 7. The Committee notes with regret that, since the abandonment in November 2012 of the Human Rights Commission Bill, the State party has not made any progress to establish a consolidated national human rights institution (art. 2). The Committee recalls its previous recommendation (see CCPR/C/JPN/CO/5, para. 9) and recommends that the State party reconsiders establishing an independent national human rights institution with a broad human rights mandate, and provides it with adequate financial and human resources, in line with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris principles) (General Assembly resolution 48/134, annex). Gender equality 8. The Committee is concerned at the State party’s continuing refusal to amend the discriminatory provisions of the Civil Code that prohibit women from remarrying in the six months following divorce and establish a different age of marriage for men and women, on the grounds that it could “affect the basic concept of the institution of marriage and that of the family” (arts. 2, 3, 23 and 26). 2