A/HRC/31/6 116. Kenya welcomed the efforts made by Mauritania to eliminate contemporary forms of slavery and encouraged Mauritania to provide its national human rights institution with adequate resources and to ensure its independent functioning. 117. Kuwait commended Mauritania for the progress it had made in strengthening human rights and noted the challenges involved in combating torture and discrimination in education. 118. Latvia welcomed the commitment of Mauritania to abolishing slavery and its cooperation with the special procedures. Latvia shared the concerns of the Commi ttee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at the prevalence of sexual violence and female genital mutilation. 119. Libya praised Mauritania for establishing national institutions including the High Council for Fatwa and Administrative Appeals, the Tadamoun national agency, the national preventive mechanism to combat torture, national courts and the National Human Rights Commission. 120. Madagascar welcomed the establishment of the national preventive mechanism against torture and the strengthening of economic and social policies and called on the international community to assist Mauritania in its human rights efforts. 121. Viet Nam appreciated the fact that Mauritania had adopted many measures for the protection and promotion of human rights, and its signature, ratification or accession to a number of international human rights instruments. 122. The delegation of Mauritania recalled that the country was an Islamic republic and did not have any religious minorities. The delegation explained t hat foreigners living in Mauritania enjoyed freedom of religion and of faith. 123. The delegation indicated that the law on the national preventive mechanism to combat torture had been adopted and was soon to be implemented; it would cover representatives of professional associations and the relevant NGOs. 124. The delegation again emphasized the fact that the Tadamoun agency possessed the mandate, capacities and financial resources necessary for combating the consequences of slavery. 125. In conclusion, the delegation recalled that Mauritania attached special importance to matters relating to human rights and aspired to take up, on a priority basis, the fight against ignorance, poverty and exclusion, veritable obstacles to the promotion of human rights. The delegation reiterated the firm commitment of Mauritania to fulfilling its treaty obligations and its readiness to cooperate with the human rights mechanisms, including the universal periodic review. It thanked the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and all of its partners for their assistance and indicated that all the recommendations requiring the Government ’s agreement would be the subject of an inclusive and participatory implementation plan. II. Conclusions and/or recommendations 126. The recommendations formulated during the interactive dialogue/listed below enjoy the support of Mauritania: 126.1 Pursue its review of laws that are not in line with international norms (State of Palestine); __________________  GE.15-22687 The conclusions and recommendations have not been edited. 13/26