A/HRC/21/13 11. The protection of detainees in police custody was strictly regulated by the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Criminal Code, which criminalized torture, and was monitored through other measures, such as the visits made to places of detention by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the National Consultative Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. 12. With regard to the tragic issue of disappeared persons, the Minister referred to the statement in the report of the Working Group that it was “impressed” by the Algerian Government’s determination to solve the cases before the Group. 13. The Minister reported the steps taken to further the dialogue with religious minorities, which included authorizing the two Catholic and Protestant associations to import Christian literature and the facilitation of entry and residence visa procedures for members of religious orders. 14. Reiterating Algeria’s commitment to cooperating with the human rights mechanisms, he said that once all the pending visits had been completed, the Government would in due course consider the requests to visit submitted by other mandate holders, in accordance with the importance of their mandates to Algeria. 15. The Minister also reiterated Algeria’s commitment to the promotion of women’s rights and outlined the legal and practical measures taken to ensure women’s full participation in public life. 16. He drew attention to the launch of the 2008–2015 national plan for children entitled “Algeria Worthy of its Children”, which aimed to provide for a better life, to guarantee a quality education for children and to better protect them against abuse, exploitation and violence. 17. He also mentioned the criminalization of human trafficking. The Minister recalled the progress made in various areas; Algeria was well on the way to attaining the eight Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 deadline. 18. With regard to the changes under way since 2008, the Minister highlighted the political reform process launched by the President in 2011, which was set to culminate with the adoption of a new Constitution. 19. He stressed that the reforms stemmed from a strong desire to expand democracy in Algeria and to fulfil the expectations of the Algerian people. The legislation adopted to that end was based on the most progressive standards on the subject, and both established the rule of law and enhanced representative democracy in the country. 20. It was in that spirit that the legislative elections had been held in optimum conditions of transparency and freedom, and in the presence of 500 international observers. Women now held 146 of the 426 seats in the new Assembly, or 31.6 per cent. 21. Under those reforms, real and broad opportunities had opened up for increasing the involvement of civil society in all aspects of public life. 22. The Minister reaffirmed the Government’s determination to consolidate the achievements obtained with the reform of the justice system, to further promote the wellbeing and potential of young people and to pursue socioeconomic development, in particular through its five-year development plan for 2010–2014. 23. With regard to Algeria’s contribution to international efforts to promote human rights, Mr. Medelci confirmed Algeria’s candidacy to become a member of the Human Rights Council for the 2014–2016 mandate. 4 GE.12-14978