A/HRC/13/2 Page 5 15. Like all colonized nations, Eritrea had suffered from development dualism. Large parts of the country were marginalized during the European colonial period, the period when the modernization of Eritrea took root. The Government had long recognized the threat to national security, communal harmony and sustainable development that such dualism could have on the young State. Thus, the Government’s development programmes after independence began from the periphery and deliberately moved towards the centre. The Government views the existing communal, ethnic and religious harmony as a cornerstone of Eritrea’s sustainable and peaceful development. In this connection, it views any pressure on the country by outside forces to adopt practices, policies and models of development and governance that would in any way tamper with Eritrea’s ethnic and communal harmony as counterproductive and contrary to the best interest of Eritrea. 16. Eritrea considers access to food for all citizens as a human right and has invested heavily in food security. At the moment, Eritrea is not self-sufficient in food production. It thus welcomed and appreciated food aid from donor agencies, provided the food aid modalities did not create dependency, introduce market distortions and above all, did not hamper the development of the agricultural sector. In the Government’s view, it is not too much to ask that those interested in forming a meaningful partnership with Eritrea make adjustments in their food aid policies, distribution modalities and even legislation, in order to help the country make effective use of their support. 17. Eritrea prepared its first report on the Millennium Development Goals in November 2006. The report concluded that Eritrea was on track to achieve six of the eight goals. Eritrea was one of only 16 countries worldwide and one of four countries in Africa expected to achieve most, if not all, of the goals by the target year of 2015. 18. Concerning the right to education, Eritrea has since independence been expending large amounts of resources to implement its education policy and realize its vision. Consequently, significant progress has been made in all spheres of education. 19. On the right to health, Eritrea’s long-term vision is the development of a health-care system in which all citizens have easy access to quality health services at affordable cost. From 1995 to2009, life expectancy increased from 45 to 61.8 years; infant mortality decreased from 72 to 48 deaths per 1,000 live births; and the under-five mortality rate dropped from 136 to 93 deaths per 1,000 live births. The malaria morbidity and mortality rate has dropped by over 80 per cent since 1999, making Eritrea one of the few countries in sub-Sahara Africa to meet the targets of the Abuja Declaration to Roll Back Malaria. HIV prevalence has been kept under control at below 2.4 per cent and Eritrea is projected to be on track to achieve the Millennium Declaration health targets by 2015. 20. Recognizing the corrosive impact that corruption could have on society and government, Eritrea established in 1995 a Special Court to implement its zero tolerance policy on corruption. In particular, the Special Court has been empowered to hear and decide cases involving corruption, fraud, theft and embezzlement pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Transitional Penal Code. Insinuations that the Special Court adjudicated matters outside its mandate have no validity. 21. The Eritrean Constitution and other pertinent laws expressly provide that citizens have the freedom to practice any religion and to manifest such practice. During the 30-year struggle for national independence, all nine Eritrean nationalities with different faiths, languages and cultures were united as one and built a secular State. Thus, the protection and guarantee of freedom of religion provided by Eritrean laws were only a confirmation of that tolerance. In 1995, the Government established the