A/HRC/36/13 representatives, taking into account the principle of gender parity, with extensive powers for monitoring, early warning, assessment and information and awareness-raising in the area of human rights. 11. The adoption of a new Constitution on 7 February 2016 had led to substantial innovations, in particular: promotion of Tamazight as an official language and establishment of an academy for its full development; a stipulation, not subject to constitutional review, that presidents may be re-elected only once; strengthening of the rights given to the opposition in parliament; strengthening of the independence and autonomy of the Constitutional Council and the Supreme Council of Justice; establishment of an independent authority for election oversight; promotion by the State of gender parity in the labour market; introduction of the principle of the right of appeal in criminal cases; strengthening of measures prohibiting violence against children; provisions to protect and care for persons with disabilities and older persons and destitute people; and the establishment of advisory bodies such as the National Anti-corruption Agency, the National Council for Scientific and Technological Research and the Youth Council. 12. In the justice sphere, the Minister called attention to the amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, the simplification of procedures, the strengthening of the specialization of courts and the implementation of their decisions and the launch of a modernization plan aimed at providing more humane conditions of detention, including in holding facilities, with regular inspections by the prosecution service. He confirmed that there were no places of detention in Algeria that were outside the law. 13. Algeria had observed a de facto moratorium on the application of the death penalty since 1993 and had initiated a process to limit the crimes subject to capital punishment. 14. The Minister reiterated his Government’s commitment to the universality of human rights, which in no way signified that models of social or political organization must be uniform or conform to a single paradigm. He refuted the amalgam of sexual orientation and discrimination that had been put forward in various forums; sexual orientation was a private matter, for individuals. 15. Freedom of worship and religion was guaranteed by the Constitution and was exercised within the framework of the law, without any discrimination. The State budget covered the maintenance and renovation of places of worship and remuneration for the clergy of all religions. Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious festivals were all celebrated in Algeria and by law, the faithful were entitled to time off on such occasions. 16. The Minister stressed the priority that the Government accorded to the question of women’s rights through measures such as: increasing women’s representation in elected bodies; promotion of women to leadership positions in all fields; the punishment of all forms of violence against women in all places and circumstances (in private, in public and in the workplace) and the provision of free court-appointed legal aid for victims; the establishment of the National Women’s Council; the adoption of a strategy for the prevention of violence and for the support and integration of victims; and the establishment of a fund to provide alimony and child support for divorced women whose former spouses defaulted on payments. 17. Human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants were now offences punishable under the Criminal Code. An ad hoc national body had been set up to monitor such problems, which had arisen essentially as a result of the migration crisis. 18. Algeria was a party to most international and regional human rights instruments and in September 2016 the Government had ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. It had submitted a number of reports to the competent bodies. 19. Various mandate holders of the Human Rights Council had already visited Algeria. The Minister extended invitations to the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, the Special Rapporteur on cultural rights, the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights GE.17-12216 3