A/HRC/11/37 175. The Permanent Representative indicated that the answers of Germany reflect the very positive interest the country had taken in the creation and conduct of the universal periodic review as well as the open and constructive spirit in which it had approached the recommendations. The review process had received considerable attention in Germany at all levels, including Parliament, and discussion on the issues raised would certainly continue. 176. A total of 35 of the 44 clusters of recommendations were accepted, most of which without reservations or restrictions. Germany regretted not to be yet in a position to provide a definite answer on the signing and ratification of the new Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in view of the fact that it was an issue still under consideration. In that regard, the Permanent Representative noted that the recommendations that could not be accepted related to issues that had been and were the subject of ongoing and intense debate among all stakeholders in Germany, and the relevant recommendations were considered to be a valuable addition to that debate. 177. Germany indicated that all recommendations had been subjected to careful scrutiny by the relevant authorities at the federal level, and had been considered in the light of both international obligations and national laws, as well as to their added value for the protection and promotion of human rights in Germany. As was already the case with the national report, the answers to the recommendations had been the subject of consultations with civil society organizations and the national human rights institution of Germany. The delegate thanked them for their engagement, constructive criticism and devotion to human rights. He underlined that throughout the review process, from the summary of the stakeholder’s input to the current consultations, it had again been demonstrated how essential the free participation of active, lively and varied civil society organizations was to the functioning of a human rights culture. Germany owed them its respect and full support, both at home and in the Council. 178. Turning to the substance of its answers to the recommendations, Germany noted that many recommendations referred to the specific areas of human rights of migrants, questions of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance, as well as minority issues. Almost all related recommendations had been accepted. Germany remained fully committed to effectively combating all instances of racism, racial discrimination and related phenomena. In this context, Germany looked forward to the visit in the country of the Special Rapporteur, Githu Muigai. 179. Although Germany was currently not in a position to accept the call for the creation of a centralized statistic database on racist and xenophobic incidents as contained in recommendation 16, it looked forward to pursuing an open dialogue on the need and feasibility of such a mechanism. The Permanent Representative added that, despite its decision not to participate in the recent Durban Review Conference, Germany would continue to engage itself fully in the international fight against racism and all forms of discrimination. Germany also remained committed to protecting the human rights of all migrants, minorities and religious groups. Germany saw no contradiction between this commitment and its well-known stand on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and existing limitations to the open display of religious beliefs by teachers and civil servants while on duty. The first instance was due to the full protection of the relevant rights in other conventions, while the second was rooted in nothing else but the need to weigh the positive and negative freedom of belief against each other and to retain the State’s neutrality in matters of belief. 180. The Permanent Representative also drew the attention of the Council to the answer to recommendation 30, where Germany not only fully embraced the recommendation, but also provided basic data and information relating to the factual situation in the country. GE.09-16766 85