A/HRC/10/29 Senegal welcomed the fact that Botswana had accepted most of the recommendations and encouraged Botswana to put them into practice in order to make the progress already achieved irreversible. Senegal invited Botswana to pay particular attention to issues relating to the rights of the child and of women as well as to those concerning the eradication of poverty and the promotion of education and health. Senegal wished the authorities of Botswana every success in their efforts to ensure the continuing improvement of the human rights situation in their country. 275. The United States of America commended Botswana for its commitment to democratic principles and appreciated its leadership in promoting similar progress in the Southern African Development Community region and the continent as a whole. The United States recognized Botswana’s investment in improving health care, access to primary education and the higher enrolment rates for children, particularly for girls. It also praised the role of women in government and society, and welcomed the implementation of the new domestic violence law, noting that increasing the access of women to development assistance and provision of better legal protections for women, including for rape, would help consolidate the gains for women. It also noted the recent opening of dialogue with the San, expressing hope that further discussions with the San and other minority groups would be held in order to better address land, education and development assistance issues. The United States further commended Botswana for its intent to improve the national capacity to promote and monitor human rights, including efforts to address judicial delays. The United States stated that it supported Botswana’s efforts to promote the professionalization and human rights training for its security forces and the seeking of assistance in this area. 276. Djibouti noted that, like all other countries in the subregion, Botswana faced enormous difficulties in effectively implementing its policy to eradicate poverty. Noting that Botswana had been severely affected by HIV/AIDS in recent years, Djibouti praised the Government for setting up a policy to monitor HIV/AIDS, and indicated that this should be shared with other countries affected by the pandemic. Djibouti expressed the view that the recommendations emanating from the universal periodic review would help improve the general human rights situation in the country. However, the implementation of these recommendations would require an internal and external symbiosis to meet the challenges faced by Botswana. (c) General comments made by other relevant stakeholders 277. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network commended the delegation for its acceptance of recommendation 24 on measures to address HIV/AIDS, but expressed its disappointment at the rejection of recommendations 18 and 23 on non-discrimination based on sexual orientation and the decriminalization of same-sex activity. It urged the Government to consider repealing the provisions of its penal code that criminalize same-sex conduct between consenting adults. It was noted that the Human Rights Committee had found that such provisions violated established international human rights law, in particular the rights to non-discrimination and privacy. Noting the comments made by the delegation that there was no known case of discrimination on those grounds, he referred to the Human Rights Committee, which had found that even when the laws were not actively enforced, they stigmatized and marginalized vulnerable groups in society. The struggle against HIV/AIDS was also undermined by such provisions. The Human Rights Committee and UNAIDS had repeatedly emphasized that they ran counter to efforts to address HIV and AIDS by driving marginalized communities underground. In December 2008. 66 States from all regional groups, including 6 from the African region, called for an end to laws criminalizing homosexuality. The call was supported by the High Commissioner, who stated that no human being, simply because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, may be subject to discrimination, violence, criminal sanctions or abuse. GE.09-17451 129