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43. The Committee recommends the immediate application of the Interim Constitution and laws
prohibiting caste-based discrimination and segregation in cases of denial of access to public
water sources. It recommends that access to public wells be closely monitored by the District
Development Committees or by another appropriate local body.
44. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt a national housing policy by
providing low-cost housing units for the rural poor and the disadvantaged individuals and
groups.
45. The Committee recommends that higher priority be accorded to reducing maternal and infant
mortality rates and that due consideration be given to the need for integrating into the general
health-care system, mental health services and programmes aimed at preventing and treating
HIV/AIDS. The Committee stresses that the right to the highest attainable standard of health
encompasses mental as well as physical health and the importance of mental health care,
particularly in relation to persons affected by the conflict.
46. The Committee recommends that as part of the general improvement in the national healthcare system, physical and economic access to reproductive health care and contraceptives be
given high priority, particularly in rural areas, and that specific measures be taken to enable
women to give birth in the care of a trained health-care professionals.
47. The Committee calls upon the State party to introduce not only free but also compulsory
education, in conformity with articles 13 and 14 of the Covenant, and to specify in its third
periodic report by when it plans to achieve this, as well as concrete benchmarks through which
progress can be measured. In this regard, the Committee refers the State party to its general
comment No. 11 (1999) on plans of action for primary education, and general comment No. 13
(1999) on the right to education. It further urges that human rights be introduced at all levels of
education, both as a subject and as a methodology of instruction, reflecting values of
participation and social inclusion. The Committee stresses the value of education as a tool for
national reconciliation, the eradication of harmful feudal practices, the promotion of respect for
the dignity of all persons and groups, as well as the building of skills to enhance future
employment prospects.
48. The Committee recommends that the State party include in its third periodic report detailed
information about criteria used to recognize officially indigenous nationalities and about the
implications thereof.
49. The Committee requests the State party to include in its next periodic report a specific
section on the results of the measures taken to combat discrimination and enhance respect,
protection and fulfilment of all economic, social and cultural rights. The Committee further
requests the State party to include in its next periodic report, annual data, disaggregated by caste,
ethnicity and sex, as well as specific benchmarks, to enable adequate monitoring and evaluation
of the progress achieved.
50. The Committee requests the State party to disseminate the present concluding observations
widely among all levels of society, particularly among government officials and judicial
authorities and to inform the Committee on the steps the it has taken to implement them in its