A/HRC/11/37 Qatar stressed the progress made in Djibouti in the area of human rights, in particular regarding the right to education and the rights of the child. 220. Algeria welcomed the establishment of a national human rights institution in line with the Paris Principles. It acknowledged the efforts made in the areas of education, health care, the protection of women and children and poverty eradication. Algeria reiterated its recommendation that OHCHR provide the necessary technical assistance requested by Djibouti to meet its human rights commitments, particularly to overcome the current delay in submitting its reports to treaty bodies. 221. Cuba congratulated Djibouti on its efforts, saying it was particularly meritorious given the fact that Djibouti was fighting for the well-being of its people under the difficult conditions imposed by the existing economic world order, aggravated by the impact of the current global financial crisis. It noted with satisfaction that Djibouti continued taking positive steps to implement the recommendations. 222. The United Arab Emirates noted with satisfaction that Djibouti had accepted most of the recommendations made during the session of the Working Group, and had decided to involve civil society in their implementation. The United Arab Emirates considered that Djibouti was going in the right direction in the area of human rights and appreciated the efforts that it was making. 223. Egypt commended Djibouti for the efforts made, noting that these were fraught with challenges and constraints, but that they had no doubt Djibouti would overcome these. Noting that Djibouti had voluntarily accepted the majority of the recommendations, it encouraged the Government to further its efforts, while welcoming the attention paid to the areas of education, health, poverty reduction and strengthening of the judicial system and the national human rights architecture. 224. Bahrain noted with appreciation the steps taken by Djibouti to implement a number of recommendations contained in the report of the Working Group. The measures taken showed Djibouti’s willingness to give new impetus to human rights and to cooperate with human rights mechanisms. Bahrain noted in particular the measures to promote the right to education, especially for children. 225. Saudi Arabia welcomed the acceptance of most of the recommendations, in particular recommendation 17 on continuing efforts to increase the number of primary and secondary schools and to strengthen higher education. Despite the obstacles encountered, Djibouti had achieved progress in the promotion and protection of human rights, having set up a ministry for the promotion and protection of the rights of women, and enacted laws to strengthen the right to education so that children between 6 and 16 years of age could benefit from free education. 226. Indonesia commended Djibouti for its ongoing work and constructive strategies to reduce illiteracy and to promote the education of girls between the ages of 6 and 16, saying that this would empower girls and women in society. It also commended it for the incorporation of ratified international norms and human rights instruments into national legislation. It welcomed the initiatives aiming at increasing the participation of women in the political and social sphere, especially with regard to the national commitments to the Millennium Development Goals. 227. Morocco noted that Djibouti had accepted 37 recommendations and reiterated its call to the international community to support Djibouti in its efforts to promote human rights, in particular in the area of the harmonization of domestic legislation and related institutional reform. Djibouti should be encouraged to make specific technical assistance requests to relevant agencies and international institutions, including OHCHR, in order to develop and promote the Millennium Development Goals. 92 GE.09-16766