A/HRC/32/8 46. The Plurinational State of Bolivia welcomed the progress made by Belgium since its first review. 47. Sweden commended the initiative of Belgium to reduce violence against women. It noted, however, a high unemployment rate among foreign-born citizens. 48. Bulgaria commended the commitment of Belgium to the process and implementation of the universal periodic review, and noted that combating racism, extremism and xenophobia remained a priority for Belgium. 49. Burkina Faso commended Belgium for the measures taken to find alternatives to imprisonment, strengthen the rights of persons under criminal investigation, and reduce prison overcrowding. 50. Canada encouraged Belgium to fully implement the national action plan to combat gender-based violence. 51. Chad commended Belgium for its efforts in implementing the recommendations of the review and for its midterm report in 2013. 52. Chile noted the commitment of Belgium to human rights and its cooperation with the United Nations, and praised the Government for improving its human rights standards. 53. China noted the progress of Belgium in ratifying human rights instruments, and welcomed plans to combat poverty, gender discrimination, domestic violence, contemporary slavery and discrimination against refugees and migrants. 54. Colombia recognized the commitment of Belgium to implement the recommendations from the first cycle, and the Government’s efforts to train the armed forces and judicial officers on human rights. 55. The Congo urged Belgium to find an agreement to establish a national human rights institution compliant with the Paris Principles. 56. Costa Rica noted the efforts to detect and prosecute cases of discrimination, and expressed concern about instances of excessive use of force by law enforcement officials. 57. Côte d’Ivoire encouraged Belgium to continue its programmes against poverty and domestic violence. 58. Belgium confirmed that the Government remained committed to establishing an independent national human rights institution during the course of its current parliamentary term. 59. Regarding the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, signed in 2005, the delegation stated that the ratification procedure was still ongoing and not yet complete. 60. Concerning religious discrimination, the Minister pointed out that the legal framework in Belgium protected the right to freedom of religion and expression. The delegation appealed to all United Nations Member States to abolish laws against blasphemy and apostasy, which led to unacceptable breaches of freedom of religion and expression. 61. Similarly, responding to the concerns expressed by various delegations regarding unlawful police violence, the delegation gave an outline of the existing legal framework to prevent and combat its occurrence. Belgium also responded to questions concerning alleged ethnic profiling by law enforcement officers and stated that the law prohibited discrimination according to a number of protected criteria, including ethnic origin, and set forth sanctions for any police officer found guilty of such offences. 8 GE.16-05884