A/HRC/13/2 Page 4 declare outright independence on account of that victory. Instead, it put the matter in the hands of the Eritrean people in the form of a free, open and internationally monitored referendum. 8. In 1995 the Government, of its own free will and initiative, formed a commission to prepare a national constitution for Eritrea. The Commission, through a transparent and widely participatory process, drafted a constitution, which was subsequently ratified by a Constituent Assembly in 1997. Eritrea had every intention of fully implementing the Constitution. Unfortunately, that intention was mired in the 1998-2000 war with Ethiopia. The full and undivided attention of the Government and the Eritrean people had to be redirected to the defence of the country’s hard-won independence and sovereignty. 9. The delegation noted that in the view of some critics, the validity and usefulness of the Constitution solely depends on whether or not Eritrea held national elections. As important as national elections were, the Constitution also dealt with other fundamental rights, freedoms and duties, including the protection of women’s rights, the rights of the child, sustainable development, safeguarding the environment and the right to property. The delegation affirmed that Eritrea was for the most part implementing the Constitution. 10. Concerning the rights of women, the Eritrean Constitution and other pertinent laws, including the Transitional Civil Code, the Transitional Penal Code, the Land Proclamation, the Election of Regional Assemblies Proclamation and the Proclamation to Abolish Female Circumcision, protect and safeguard the rights of women. 11. With respect to the rights of the child, Eritrea signed and ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in August 1994. In 2000, Eritrea also signed and ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and in 2005 acceded to the Optional Protocols to CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Various initiatives have been carried out to ensure the implementation of CRC. 12. The delegation indicated that the idea that Eritrea recruits underage children for military service, subjects them to detention or maltreats them is inconsistent both with the ideals of the Government and its practice on the ground. National service, as a legal requirement, begins at 18 years of age and there is no such a thing as forced recruitment. Students attending the twelfth grade and preparing for the school leaving certificate exam in Sawa should not be confused with national service conscripts. 13. Eritrea indicated that there were around 100,000 persons with disabilities in the country, 20,000 of whom were veterans. The devastation brought about by a war affected not only the disabled war veterans but also the surviving families of martyrs. Social ills such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, parental death and family breakdowns had also contributed to the social welfare challenges Eritrea continued to face. 14. Regarding the right to development, Eritrea fully endorses the approach defined by General Assembly resolution 46/128 of 4 December 1986 and the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and has acted accordingly since independence. As a result, the average Eritrean citizen enjoys far greater access to education, health, water, sanitary facilities, credit and microfinance facilities, transportation and electricity services and specialized capacity-building opportunities than ever before. The Government considers this as a more meaningful expression of its duty and responsibility to protect the democratic and human rights of the Eritrean people.