A/HRC/12/6 page 4 human rights and the rule of law. In that regard, new institutional mechanisms had been established under the Constitution of January 2002 in order to protect and promote human rights. The measures taken by the Congolese Government covered both civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights. Realization of those rights was a long-term process requiring vast resources, which the State did not necessarily have. It was hoped that various forms of assistance would be provided. 7. The head of the delegation reaffirmed the Government’s determination to continue its efforts to enhance the work of the existing mechanisms, with the support of bilateral and multilateral partners. The National Human Rights Commission had been assigned headquarters worthy of its status and was being assisted with accreditation to the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which were prerequisites for preparation of the National Human Rights Commission’s inaugural session, thereby enabling it to guarantee full enjoyment of human rights for all sectors of the population. 8. Concerning policy on minorities, he described the special measures taken by the Government in respect of access to employment, education and health care. 9. Participation of Congolese women in national affairs was guaranteed at all levels. They received financial, logistical and technical assistance from the Maison de la Femme, an institution providing various forms of support to women’s activities. 10. The State had taken important measures in the area of health, including the introduction of free HIV/AIDS testing and treatment, and free treatment of malaria for children up to the age of 15. 11. In the areas of freedom of opinion and freedom of the press, he stressed that nobody was currently being detained in the Congo for crimes of opinion and that no journalists had been harassed by the Government in the course of their work. He gave as an example several recent local press articles strongly criticizing the Government and the Head of State, the outcome of which could have been very different. 12. To date, over 100 registered political parties and associations were able to freely exercise their activities, as were over 200 non-political organizations and associations of a social, economic and cultural nature. 13. The head of the Congolese delegation said that the Congolese parliament had recently adopted legislation on the protection of children, and other specific measures guaranteeing all children access to education and health care. While some shortcomings might remain, they did not run counter to the general policy of protecting the rights of the child. 14. With regard to problems in the justice sector, he said that judges who had violated professional ethics had recently been removed from the bench by the Supreme Council of the Judiciary. 15. The Congo had not applied the death penalty since 1979.