CRC/C/15/Add.259 page 3 Legislation 8. The Committee takes note of the relatively advanced legal framework and it is encouraged by many legislative initiatives, new laws enacted and legislative amendments adopted which aim to better protect and promote the rights of the child. The Committee is deeply concerned, however, about the insufficient implementation of laws, particularly at the local level. The Committee also notes that domestic legislation does not fully conform to all provisions and principles of the Convention. 9. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to ensure the full and effective implementation of its domestic laws in order to better protect the rights of the child and harmonize its legislation fully with the provisions and principles of the Convention, for example with regard to the existing minimum age of criminal responsibility and children in conflict with the law. National Plan of Action 10. The Committee welcomes the launching of a National Strategic Framework Plan for the Development of Children 2001-2025, known as Child 21, and the holistic approach adopted to address child rights issues and related progress and shortcomings. The Committee is concerned that the existing monitoring mechanisms are insufficient to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Plan in a coherent way. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned about the limited awareness of the Plan and its objectives at the local level. 11. The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures, inter alia, by providing adequate human, financial and technical resources, for the full implementation of the National Strategic Framework Plan for the Development of Children 2001-2025 and ensure a rights-based, open, consultative and participatory process for the implementation of the Plan, paying particular attention to the implementation of the Plan at the local level. In this regard the Committee recommends that the State party fully support the National Council for the Welfare of Children by providing it with the necessary resources to enable it to effectively coordinate the activities related to the implementation of the Plan and monitor and evaluate this implementation process. In addition, the State party is urged to promote as much as possible the establishment of local councils for the protection of children, particularly in the cities, municipalities and barangays (smallest unit of local government), provided with adequate resources to be important instruments in the implementation of the Plan, in particular, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in general. The Committee also recommends that the State party seek technical assistance from, among others, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in the course of the implementation process. Independent monitoring 12. The Committee welcomes the establishment of the Philippines Commission on Human Rights (PCHR) in 1997, with the mandate to independently promote and monitor the implementation of human rights and notes that some other bodies are also given a monitoring