E/C.12/NPL/CO/2 page 7 36. The Committee encourages the Government to provide adequate and immediate assistance, in particular through special temporary measures, to alleviate the adverse impact of the conflict on women, including poverty and loss of income, social stigma, and insecurity of tenure resulting from unclear property rights due to the unknown fate of the missing spouses. 37. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen its efforts to promote labourintensive industries and increase productivity in the agricultural sectors. The Committee also recommends that special programmes for ex-Kamaiyas and ex-Haliyas, Dalits, indigenous persons and groups, and particularly women belonging to these groups, be expanded in the rural areas as a matter of priority. 38. The Committee recommends that the State party continue to address the situation of children engaged in the worst forms of child labour, with the assistance of the International Labour Organization. The Committee recommends that measures to rehabilitate affected children, to monitor their work conditions and their living conditions following removal from such work, be strengthened and significantly expanded to cover all children engaged in the worst forms of child labour. 39. The Committee urges that the minimum wage be set at a sufficient level to enable workers and their families enjoy an adequate standard of living. The Committee encourages the State party to carry out periodic reviews of the minimum wage. It further requests information in the next report about the methodology for the calculation of the minimum wage. 40. While noting that Nepal is a low income country and its resources are correspondingly limited, the Committee reminds the State party that it is obliged to comply with its Covenant obligations to the maximum of its available resources. In this regard, the Committee refers the State party to its recent statement on the evaluation of the obligation to take steps to the "maximum of available resources" under an Optional Protocol to the Covenant (E/C.12/2007/1). 41. The Committee also recommends that specific mechanisms and procedures be established to monitor the implementation of such strategies and evaluate the progress achieved in combating poverty effectively, including among the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups. 42. The Committee recommends that the State party take urgent steps to ensure food security and access to water for all, particularly those who belong to the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups. It recommends that agricultural policies aim effectively at improving not only productivity and commercialization but also access and distribution. In this regard, the Committee urges that specific measures be implemented with a view to enhancing the participation of the lower castes in the production, distribution and consumption of food. The Committee requests the State party to provide in its third periodic report detailed information about the extent of food insecurity, the groups most vulnerable to it, and the concrete measures envisaged to address it. In this regard, the Committee draws the attention of the State party to its general comment No. 12 (1999) on the right to adequate food and general comment No. 15 (2002) on the right to water.

Select target paragraph3