A/HRC/20/28 IV. Thematic priorities 21. In view of the broad thematic scope of its mandate, covering discrimination against women in law and in practice, the Working Group has identified four thematic areas of focus, namely, political and public life; economic and social life; family and cultural life; and health and safety. The Working Group regards violence against women and the intersection of various grounds of discrimination as cross-cutting in all of its work. It is paying particular attention to specific groups of women, including but not limited to women living in poverty, migrant women, women with disabilities, women belonging to minorities, rural and indigenous women, older women, girls, including adolescents, women in conflict and post-conflict situations, refugee women, internally displaced women and stateless women. 22. During the biennium 2012-2013, the Working Group decided to focus on two of the four thematic areas identified, namely, discrimination in political and public life, with a focus on political transition, and economic and social life, with a focus on economic crisis. A. Political and public life, with a focus on political transition 23. In 2012 and 2013, the Working Group will address the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice in the context of political and public life, with a focus on times of political transition. The Working Group’s research on this topic will inform its annual report to the Human Rights Council in 2013 and the compendium of good practices that it is expected to complete by the end of its three-year mandate. 24. The Working Group will address this issue from the point of view of States’ obligations to eliminate discrimination against women in political and public life, to fulfil women’s civil and political rights in their interrelatedness and interdependence with other human rights, and to provide equal opportunity and ways and means for the empowerment of women in these areas, in accordance with international human rights law. Its approach is based on the recognition of women’s right to substantive equality in all aspects of political and public life as a human right essential to women’s human dignity. The Working Group intends to articulate, in its 2013 thematic report, the most current understanding of discrimination against women in political and public life, including the intersection of multiple grounds of discrimination, with a keen eye on the differential impacts on women of efforts to eliminate discriminatory laws. 25. The Working Group is guided by articles 4, 7, 8 and 9 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, as well as the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’s general recommendation No. 23 (1997), in which the Committee states: The political and public life of a country is a broad concept. It refers to the exercise of political power, in particular the exercise of legislative, judicial, executive and administrative powers. The term covers all aspects of public administration and the formulation and implementation of policy at the international, national, regional and local levels. The concept also includes many aspects of civil society, including public boards and local councils and the activities of organizations such as political parties, trade unions, professional or industry associations, women’s organizations, community-based organizations and other organizations concerned with public and political life. 26. The Working Group will further refer, in particular, to articles 2, 3 and 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Human Rights Committee general comments No. 28 (2000) on the equality of rights between men and women and No. 25 8