acceded by Decree-Law No. (5) of 2002, affirms that women shall enjoy all their rights without distinction, exclusion or restriction with the purpose of impairing the recognition of all women’s rights in civil, political, economic, social and cultural fields, or any other field. 6. Notwithstanding the fact that the Kingdom of Bahrain, when acceding to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, made reservations on Article (2) to ensure its implementation within the bound of the provisions of the Islamic Shari’a, and Article (9) paragraph (2), Article (15) paragraph (4), Article (16) in so far as it is incompatible with the Islamic Shari’a, Article (29) paragraph (1) of the provisions of the International Convention. On the basis of the Decree-Law Number (70) of 2014 amending some provisions of the Decree-Law Number (5) of 2002, regarding the accession to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Kingdom of Bahrain responded promptly to rephrase those reservations and is committed to the implementation of Article (2) of the Convention without breaching the provisions of the Islamic Shari’a, and continued to make reservations with respect to Article (9) paragraph (2) without explanation. As for Article (15) paragraph (4), and Article (16), the Kingdom of Bahrain is committed to implementing them without breaching the provisions of the Islamic Shari’a; and it continued to make reservations with respect to Article (29) Paragraph (1) without explanation. 7. In the field of institutional building, the Supreme Council for Women was established by the Amiri Decree No. (44) of 2001 and its amendments, under the chairmanship of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the spouse of His Majesty the King, to be the leading authority for all official bodies in connection with matters relating to women, competent to express opinion and decide on matters relating directly and indirectly to the status of women, to propose general policy regarding the development of women’s affairs in the constitutional and civil organizations of the society, and to empower women to perform their role in public life and integrate their efforts into the comprehensive development programs without discrimination against them. The Council also undertakes setting up a national plan to improve the situation of women and solve the problems facing them in all fields. 8. Emphasizing the principle of equal opportunities, equality, and non-discrimination between women and men; Article No. (18) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain, stated that “People are equal in human dignity, and citizens are equal before the law in public rights and duties. There shall be no discrimination among them on the basis of sex, origin, language, religion, or creed,” since the status of “citizen” is used for women and men equally. Given that the constitutional provisions are read collectively as one indivisible unit; the principle of equality contained in Article No. (18) of the Constitution extends to include all the civil rights and freedoms therein, whether they are civil and political, or economic, social, and cultural, and whether it addresses a man or a woman. 9. The principle of equal opportunity and non-discrimination between men and women in the enjoyment of all rights has been reflected in the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Kingdom of Bahrain has acceded pursuant to Law No. (56) of 69