E/C.12/EGY/CO/2-4 (b) Adoption of Law No. 71/2009 providing for care of psychiatric patients; and establishment of regional councils for mental health; (c) Criminalization of female genital mutilation under Law No. 1266/2008 and art. 242 bis of the Penal Code; (d) Amendment of the nationality law, which allows for Egyptian nationality to be granted to the children of an Egyptian mother married to a foreigner, in 2004; and (e) C. Adoption of the Labour Act of 2003 which seeks to protect the right to work. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations 5. The Committee is concerned about current uncertainties regarding safeguards for the State party’s National Council for Human Rights to maintain full compliance with the Paris Principles relating to the status of national institutions including with regard to the selection and terms of reference of its members. The Committee urges the State party to ensure that the legal provisions governing its National Council for Human Rights fully comply with the Paris Principles, particularly with regard to the selection, appointment and removal of members, access to places of detention and confinement and its mandate to promote and protect human rights. In doing so, the State party is also urged to ensure adequate human, technical and financial resources to the National Council for Human Rights to enable it to effectively discharge its mandate in full conformity with the Paris Principles. In this light, the Committee refers the State party to its general comment No. 10 (1998) on the role of national human rights institutions in the protection of economic, social and cultural rights. 6. The Committee is concerned that the reduction in the proportion of budgetary resources allocated for health, education and housing has resulted in retrogression in the effective enjoyment of the rights enshrined in the Covenant, disproportionately impacting disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups. The Committee is also concerned at the increasing recourse to regressive indirect taxes without prior assessment of their potentially severe human rights impacts and careful consideration of more equitable revenue collection alternatives (art. 2, para. 1). The Committee recommends that the State party increase the proportion of its budget allocated to sectors directly related to the Covenant rights, particularly health, education, housing and food. In doing so, the State party should ensure a budget formulation process that allows for meaningful inputs of stakeholders, including civil society. The Committee also reiterates its previous recommendation (E/C.12/1/Add.44, para. 28) and urges the State party to ensure that obligations under the Covenant are taken into account in all aspects of its negotiations with international financial institutions, to ensure that economic, social and cultural rights, particularly of the most vulnerable groups, are not undermined. The Committee also draws the attention of the State party to its general comment No. 3 (1998) on the nature of States parties’ obligations and general comment No. 19 (2007) on the right to social security. 7. The Committee is deeply concerned about corruption in the State party and the inadequate implementation of measures to combat it, which has adversely affected the State party’s ability to mobilize available resources to the maximum extent (art. 2, para. 1). The Committee recommends that the State party step up its efforts to strengthen its national legislation to combat corruption at national, governorate and municipal levels. The Committee also recommends that the State party ensure that the legislation 2