CEDAW/C/GC/37 leadership by women and the representation and participation of women, which are components that are essential to the development and implementation of effective programmes and policies relating to disaster risk reduction and climate chan ge that take into account the needs of the population, in particular those of women. 36. To ensure that women and girls are provided with equal opportunities to lead and to participate and engage in decision-making in activities relating to disaster risk reduction and climate change, the Committee recommends that States parties: (a) Adopt targeted policies, such as temporary special measures, including quotas, as provided for in article 4 of the Convention and in general recommendation No. 25 (2004) on temporary special measures, as one element of a coordinated and regularly monitored strategy to achieve the equal participation of women in all decision-making and development planning relating to disaster risk reduction and climate change; 17 (b) Develop programmes to ensure the participation of and leadership by women in political life, including through civil society organizations, in particular women’s organizations, at various levels, in particular in the context of local and community planning and climate change and disaster preparedness, response and recovery; (c) Ensure the equal representation of women in forums and mechanisms on disaster risk reduction and climate change, at the community, local, national, regional and international levels, in order to enable them to participate in and influence the development of policies, legislation and plans relating to disaster risk reduction and climate change and their implementation. States parties should also take positive measures to ensure that girls, young women and women belonging to indigenous and other marginalized groups are provided with opportunities to be represented in those mechanisms; (d) Strengthen national institutions concerned with gender-related issues and women’s rights, civil society and women’s organizations and provide them with adequate resources, skills and authority to lead, advise, monitor and carry out strategies to prevent and respond to disasters and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change; (e) Allocate adequate resources to building the leadership capacity of women and creating an enabling environment for strengthening their active role in disaster risk reduction and response and climate change mitigation, at all levels and across all relevant sectors. C. Accountability and access to justice 37. In line with article 15 (1) of the Convention, women should be accorded equality before the law, which is extremely important in situations of disaster and in the context of climate change, given that women, who often face barriers to gaining access to justice, may encounter significant difficulties in claiming compensation and other forms of reparation to mitigate their losses and to adapt to climate change. The recognition of the legal capacity of women as identical to tha t of men and equal between groups of women, including women with disabilities and indigenous women, as well as their equal access to justice, are essential elements of disaster and climate change policies and strategies. 18 __________________ 17 18 10/24 See CEDAW/C/TUV/CO/2, paras. 55–56. See also general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women’s access to justice. 18-03824