A/HRC/31/56 Constitution and its amendments permit special measures for the social and educational advancement of marginalized communities, including scheduled castes, and provide reservations of electoral seats in the Lower House and state legislatures for scheduled castes. The new Constitution of Nepal contains several provisions for safeguarding the rights of Dalits, including in employment, education and health care, and articulates a political system based on proportional representation for disadvantaged groups, including Dalits, minorities and women, at the local and national levels. Specific legislation 113. Specific legislation to combat caste-based discrimination in all its manifestations is instrumental to criminalize discriminatory practices, bring perpetrators to justice and provide redress to victims. Nevertheless, poor levels of both implementation of legislative measures and accountability, or a lack thereof, result in prevailing impunity and the perpetuation of caste-based discrimination. 114. In South Asia, India and Nepal have enacted specific legislation to combat caste-based discrimination. In India, two of the most recent laws are the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill (2015) and the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act (2013). Nepal enacted the Caste Based Discrimination and Untouchability (Offence and Punishment) Act in 2011, which criminalizes such discrimination in private and public spheres. 115. In Japan, the Law on Special Measures for Dowa Projects, enacted in 1969 and in force until 2002, was aimed at improving the living conditions in identified Buraku districts (Dowa districts) by improving access to welfare, employment and education, and providing redress in cases of discrimination against Buraku people. 116. In the United Kingdom, the passing of the 2010 Equality Act brought the caste-discrimination issue into the public arena. Since its amendment in 2013, the Act now includes caste as an aspect of race, following advocacy from civil society organizations and the recommendation of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in its 2011 review of the State.107 Specialized institutions 117. In its general recommendation No. 29 (2002), the Committee requested States to “establish statutory mechanisms, through the strengthening of existing institutions or the creation of specialized institutions, to promote respect for the equal human rights of members of descent-based communities”. 118. In 2002, Nepal established a National Dalit Commission tasked with a twofold objective: to increase the participation of Dalit communities “in the mainstream of national development” and to create a favourable environment for Dalit communities. 108 119. In 2004, India established the National Commission for Scheduled Castes as a separate body109 with a wide-range of functions, including monitoring implementation of legislation on scheduled castes, investigating complaints and reporting periodically on the status of implementation of legislation. 107 108 109 22 See CERD/C/GBR/CO/18-20, para. 30. http://ndc.gov.np/site/cms/12. www.ncsc.nic.in.