A/HRC/27/5 the special police units for the protection of women and children. The delegation added that targeted legal provisions still needed to be formulated to better ensure their safety. 20. The delegation stated that measures had been taken to improve detention conditions and that, thanks to a range of initiatives, malnutrition in prisons was declining. The Government had established a refurbishment plan for detention facilities. 21. Regarding collaboration with human rights protection and promotion mechanisms, the delegation stressed that no requests to visit the country had been denied. The delegation specified that all reports to treaty bodies should be submitted by the end of March 2015. 22. Regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the delegation reported that a bill amending the Family Code to repeal provisions that were discriminatory towards women was under consideration. 23. The delegation noted that the process of ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was under way, but that the process for the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance had not yet begun. Regarding the prevention mechanism provided for under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, the delegation pointed out that, in order to avoid a plethora of systems, the mechanism’s mandate could be entrusted to the National Human Rights Commission. 24. Regarding the abolition of capital punishment, the delegation confirmed that the issue was not officially on the political agenda, but that a de facto moratorium had been in force for 10 years. 25. The delegation stated that acts of intimidation, death threats, arbitrary arrests and other human rights violations against human rights defenders had been reported in the conflict areas in the Eastern part of the country and that a bill on the protection of human rights defenders had been submitted to parliament, although it had yet to be adopted. 26. Regarding the reform of the Congolese Armed Forces, the delegation stated that the general plan consisted of three phases, which the Government intended to implement by 2025. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 27. During the interactive dialogue, 94 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 28. The Netherlands welcomed the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework, which provided a base to implement the rule of law and prosecute those who committed crimes against humanity and other international crimes in the past. 29. While acknowledging the efforts made to strengthen human rights, Nicaragua stated that many tasks remained and resources were insufficient. It encouraged the Democratic Republic of the Congo to step up its efforts to improve the lives of its citizens. 30. The Niger commended the progress made since the last review through the adoption of legislation and improvements in education, health, access to water and job creation. 31. Nigeria urged the country to provide education and health care and ensure respect for women’s and children’s rights. It called on the international community to support the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 32. Norway believed that it was important to introduce legislation to protect human rights defenders. It stated that women were poorly represented in political bodies, while GE.14-07547 5