E/C.12/GNQ/CO/1 The Committee draws the State party’s attention to its statement on an evaluation of the obligation to take steps to the maximum of available resources (E/C.12/2007/1). 14. The Committee is concerned by reports that indicate that human rights activists are subjected to intimidation and harassment. The Committee urges the State party to adopt all measures necessary to protect human rights defenders and activists — particularly those working in the area of economic, social and cultural rights — from any and all acts of intimidation and harassment and to ensure that perpetrators of such acts are brought to justice. 15. The Committee notes that equality between men and women is recognized in the Constitution of Equatorial Guinea. However, the Committee is concerned by reports of the persistence of deeply-rooted gender stereotypes and traditional practices and customs that are detrimental to the equal enjoyment by men and women of the rights enshrined in the Covenant and by reports that the efforts made by the State party to counter them are limited. The Committee also notes with concern the problems raised by the coexistence of civil and customary legal systems in terms of the promotion and protection of equal rights for men and women in the areas of marriage, family relations and inheritance (art. 2, para. 2, and arts. 3 and 10). The Committee urges the State party to take the necessary legislative or other measures to combat and eliminate stereotypes, customs and practices that are harmful to women and to eliminate discrimination against women in matters relating to marriage, family relations and inheritance, in accordance with the provisions of the Covenant, and to strengthen and ensure the effective implementation of existing measures of this nature, including awareness-raising activities. It also recommends that the State party ensure that women fully enjoy all the economic, social and cultural rights enshrined in the Covenant. The Committee requests the State party to include up-to-date information in its initial report on the measures taken to eliminate direct and indirect gender-based discrimination in relation to the rights enshrined in the Covenant and to guarantee that men and women enjoy these rights on an equal footing. It also requests the State party to provide information on the results of those measures. 16. The Committee is concerned by reports of high levels of poverty in the country, especially in rural areas and among women, despite the fact that the State party has a high national income (art. 11). The Committee recommends that the State party step up its efforts to combat poverty, especially in rural areas and disadvantaged and marginalized regions; allocate sufficient funding for this purpose; and ensure that all economic, social and cultural rights are fully addressed in all anti-poverty measures that it adopts. The Committee also recommends that the State party devote particular attention to the economic, social and cultural rights of the most disadvantaged and marginalized persons and groups, such as persons with disabilities, women in rural areas and persons living with HIV/AIDS. The Committee requests the State party to include comparative data in its initial report, disaggregated by year, sex and rural/urban area, on the numbers of people living in poverty and extreme poverty and on the progress made in combating poverty. The Committee refers the State party to its statement on poverty and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/2001/10). 17. The Committee encourages the State party, when adopting legislative reforms or other measures, to at all times bear in mind its obligations under the Covenant and 4 GE.12-48675