A/HRC/36/15 Discrimination, a nationwide anti-discrimination campaign had been launched and it was foreseen that the local anti-discrimination bureaus would be strengthened. 9. An action plan against discrimination in the labour market that included measures against discrimination on all grounds had been launched. Moreover, the police had launched a three-year programme entitled “The power of difference” to prevent ethnic profiling and focus, inter alia, on education and training and on an improved complaints procedure. 10. Gender equality remained a priority for the Government. Several projects had been launched to increase awareness about the importance of the economic independence of women. Although approximately one in three top positions in the central government were held by women, the Government would continue its efforts to further improve gender equality in line with the recommendations contained in the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. 11. In response to the advance questions regarding the rights of refugees, the delegation stated that the Netherlands had dealt with an influx of asylum seekers in 2015. The Government’s highest priority was ensuring that all those concerned could be accommodated in a humane fashion. The Netherlands had made great efforts to achieve that objective and not a single asylum seeker had been left without shelter during the reporting period. 12. The delegation reiterated the strong commitment of the Netherlands to the universal periodic review process; it noted the voluntarily submission of a midterm report and its constructive contribution to the sessions of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review. The Netherlands would take the recommendations put forward during its third review very seriously, as the success of the review exercise depended on the implementation of the recommendations. 13. The representative of Aruba highlighted that the diversity of the population of Aruba was a result of migration flows from various countries. The government had been working hard to achieve its vision of sustainability and shared prosperity and had been implementing strategies to improve the lives of its citizens, promote cultural diversity and reinforce peaceful coexistence. 14. With the support of the United Nations Development Programme, the Centre of Excellence for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States had been established in Aruba in 2015, building on local experience with sustainable development practices. The Centre aimed at strengthening innovation and resilience in small island developing States and at offering a platform to exchange knowledge and experiences between developing countries related to such issues as renewable energy, water management, tourism and public health. 15. The representative of Aruba spoke of several measures that had been taken to reform legislation in line with international human rights standards. The 2012 Penal Code had strengthened protection against discrimination in Aruba. The 2016 amendments to the Civil Code had provided legal recognition of civil unions between same-sex persons. Legal amendments had prohibited corporal punishment within the family. Sentences for offences related to human trafficking had been increased. A new project had started in 2017 to provide residence permits to undocumented youths. The government of Aruba recognized that the protection of human rights required continuous progress. 16. The representative of Sint Maarten stated that the government remained committed to the protection and promotion of human rights and had made several efforts to implement its human rights obligations. Since the 2012 review, the government had taken measures to ensure that all children between 4 and 18 years of age had access to education regardless of their legal status. Additional schools had been established and the teacher-student ratio had improved. 17. In 2015, Sint Maarten had adopted a new Penal Code to address new challenges and meet its international obligations. The Code included stronger provisions for effectively prosecuting perpetrators of human trafficking-related crimes, in line with the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women 3

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