A/HRC/21/13 121. Mauritania commended Algeria’s commitment to the highest human rights standards in the areas of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Mauritania positively noted the holding of the last elections according to international standards, highlighting that women had obtained 143 out of the 462 seats. 122. With regard to the Family Code, the Minister said that the cultural specificities and beliefs of Algerian society needed to be taken into account, in addition to the international standards to which Algeria adhered. The same applied in relation to the issue of the death penalty. 123. Returning to the issue of freedom of expression, he recalled that there was free access to the Internet in the country, a point also highlighted by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression. 124. As to visits to places of detention, ICRC regularly visited Algerian prisons, and the Algerian prison system was an open one. 125. On the subject of the right to housing, the 2010–2014 five-year development plan included a US$ 286 billion budget for the construction of 2 million homes, most of which were in social housing projects. In addition, 14,000 infrastructure projects would be carried out to benefit young people. 126. Persons with disabilities were included in the country’s governance policy and were given special attention. A national survey on persons with disabilities and their needs had been launched, and among the most recent measures was one that required all new buildings to meet accessibility standards. The five-year development plan also provided for the creation of 70 specialized health facilities. 127. In closing his presentation, the Minister stressed the importance that Algeria attached to the endeavour at hand, as evidenced by the major advances made by the country since 2008, and reiterated Algeria’s commitment to implementing the recommendations that the Council would make to further nurture that virtuous circle. 128. Algeria was committed to honouring the recommendations that it accepted and would examine all the recommendations received with due attention. He hoped that the exercise was viewed as having been useful, as it certainly had been for Algeria. The Algerian delegation was delighted to have voluntarily engaged in such an endeavour. Algeria had chosen to carry out the exercise of its own volition and, to do so with the support of the member States. It was also valuable for the other countries that participated because it enabled them to share experiences and to draw inspiration from good governance practices, and to avoid bad ones. II. Conclusions and/or recommendations** 129. The following recommendations will be examined by Algeria which will provide responses in due time, but no later than the twenty-first session of the Human Rights Council in September 2012: 129.1 Ratify (Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Hungary), or consider ratifying (Costa Rica) the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court including its Agreement on Privileges and Immunities (Slovakia), and fully align its national legislation with all obligations under the Rome Statute (Slovenia, Latvia, Hungary) including incorporating the Rome Statute definition of crimes and ** Conclusions and recommendations have not been edited. GE.12-14978 15