E/C.12/DOM/CO/4 (d) C. The National Human Rights Plan 2015-2020. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations Justiciability of the Covenant rights 5. While noting that, in accordance with article 74 of the Constitution, the Covenant is of constitutional rank and is directly applicable, the Committee finds it regrettable that no information has been provided on examples of cases in which Covenant rights have been invoked before domestic courts or directly applied by them. The Committee is also concerned that the enjoyment of Covenant rights and access to regional human rights protection mechanisms have been adversely affected by some recent decisions of the Constitutional Court, such as ruling TC/0168/13, which stripped persons of Haitian descent of their Dominican nationality, and ruling TC/0256/14, by which the instrument used by the State party to recognize the competence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights was declared to be unconstitutional. 6. The Committee recommends that the State party take the necessary steps to promote the applicability of all the rights enshrined in the Covenant at all levels of the justice system. It urges the State party to provide training on the substantive aspects of the Covenant rights and on the possibility of invoking them in court, particularly to judges, including those of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, and to members of Congress, law enforcement officials and other persons responsible for the implementation of the Covenant. The Committee recommends that the State party take the necessary steps to ensure that all judicial decisions duly uphold human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, and to remedy the effects of Constitutional Court rulings TC/0168/13 and TC/0256/14. It also encourages the State party to conduct campaigns to raise awareness among rights holders. The Committee draws the State party’s attention to its general comment No. 9 (1998) on the domestic application of the Covenant. Cooperation with civil society organizations 7. The Committee is concerned that the State party does not have appropriate mechanisms for ensuring effective cooperation with civil society organizations in the promotion of the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights. 8. The Committee recommends that the State party redouble its efforts to engage in constructive cooperation with civil society organizations in order to ensure active, open and transparent participation in public life and that it establish appropriate mechanisms for consultations regarding the dissemination of the present concluding observations at the national level and the preparation of its next periodic report. Human rights defenders 9. While welcoming the delegation’s statements regarding recognition for the work of human rights defenders, the Committee is concerned by reports of assaults and reprisals against human rights defenders, including defenders of economic, social and cultural rights. 10. The Committee recommends that the State party adopt effective measures on a timely basis to prevent acts of violence against all human rights defenders, protect their lives and ensure their personal safety. It also recommends that the State party carry out thorough, transparent investigations into all cases of violence against human rights defenders and that it punish those responsible appropriately. The Committee encourages the State party to conduct campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of the work carried out by human rights defenders with a view to fostering a climate 2 GE.16-18306