CEDAW/C/GC/33 (d) Provide national human rights institutions and ombudsperson offices with adequate resources and support to conduct research. D. Plural justice systems 61. The Committee notes that State laws, regulations, procedures and decisions can sometimes coexist, within a given State party, with religious, customary, indigenous or community laws and practices. This results in the existence of plural justice systems. There are, therefore, multiple sources of law that may be formally recognized as part of the national legal order or operate wit hout an explicit legal basis. States parties have obligations under articles 2, 5 (a) and 15 of the Convention and under other international human rights instruments to ensure that women’s rights are equally respected and that women are protected against violations of their human rights by all components of plural justice systems. 21 62. The presence of plural justice systems can, in itself, limit women’s access to justice by perpetuating and reinforcing discriminatory social norms. In many contexts, the availability of multiple avenues for gaining access to justice within plural justice systems notwithstanding, women are unable to effectively exercise a choice of forum. The Committee has observed that, in some States parties in which systems of family and/or personal law based on customs, religion or community norms coexist alongside civil law systems, individual women may not be as familiar with both systems or at liberty to decide which regime applies to them. 63. The Committee has observed a range of models through which practices embedded in plural justice systems can be harmonized with the Convention in order to minimize conflicts of laws and guarantee that women have access to justice. They include the adoption of legislation that clearly defines the rel ationship between existing plural justice systems, the creation of State review mechanisms and the formal recognition and codification of religious, customary, indigenous, community and other systems. Joint efforts by States parties and non -State actors will be necessary to examine ways in which plural justice systems can work together to reinforce protection for women’s rights. 22 64. The Committee recommends that, in cooperation with non-State actors, States parties: (a) Take immediate steps, including capacity-building and training programmes on the Convention and women’s rights, for justice system personnel, to ensure that religious, customary, indigenous and community justice systems harmonize their norms, procedures and practices with the human rights standards enshrined in the Convention and other international human rights instruments; (b) Enact legislation to regulate the relationships between the mechanisms within plural justice systems in order to reduce the potential for conflict; (c) Provide safeguards against violations of women’s human rights by enabling review by State courts or administrative bodies of the activities of all __________________ 21 22 15-13094 See, in particular, general recommendation No. 29. International Development Law Organization, Accessing Justice: Models, Strategies and Best Practices on Women’s Empowerment (Rome, 2013). 23/25