A/HRC/8/44 Page 15 considers taking in order to better implement this law, to further fight against discrimination based on sex, and to combat sexual harassment. 55. In its intervention, Slovakia focused on the status of refugees and asylum-seekers in Japan and noted the recommendations of the Committee against Torture in that regard. While welcoming the enhancement of the fairness and neutrality of the refugee recognition procedures by the introduction of a refugee examination counsel system in 2005, Slovakia recommended that it establish an independent body to review asylum applications. 56. Viet Nam was pleased to note, in regard to the rights of older persons, that Japan as an aging society has taken many measures to ensure a better life, both physical and mental, for this particular vulnerable group which could serve as a basis for sharing experience and best practice with others. Viet Nam wished more detailed information in this respect. 57. Pakistan noted the strategy of ensuring protection and promotion of human rights of all citizens and the efforts for human rights education reflect the importance that Japan attaches to this important issue. Pakistan asked Japan about the measures planned to integrate a gender perspective in the follow-up to the UPR. 58. Peru stated, inter alia, that it has a long-standing friendship and cooperation with Japan and that the number of Peruvian migrants in Japan is very high, the majority of whom are workers in a regular situation. It was concerned that Japan has not yet acceded to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and recommended that Japan ratify this international instrument. Peru attached particular importance to the rights of indigenous peoples and asked about measures being taken by Japan to disseminate the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and bring it to the wider attention of its people and about the measures adopted to ensure full respect of the human rights of the Ainu minority in Japan. 59. Japan stated that, in penal institutions, attention should be paid to helping inmates sentenced to the death penalty maintain emotional stability as well as to ensure secure custody. Inmates sentenced to death are notified of their execution on the day of the execution. Japan is concerned that inmates should become emotionally unstable and could suffer serious emotional distress if they are notified in advance of the exact date. For this reason, Japan believes that the current practice is inevitable. The Government did not have statistics on the number of death penalty sentences in 2007, and thus was unable to respond whether there was an increase since 1980 or not. With regard to calls for a moratorium on the death penalty, Japan considered that it would be very cruel to first give the expectation to the prisoners that they will not be executed, and later inform them that they will be executed. With regard to imprisonment without parole, Japan considered that this may be a cruel and problematic system that has the possibility to destroy the personal character of prisoners; therefore the introduction of such a system needs to be considered very carefully. On the question of the high rate of convictions, the Government noted that this is the aggregated result of the judgements given by each court, and that the criminal procedures are based on the very thorough investigation, very restrictive indictment based on the investigation and the proper proving at the trial, thus it does not consider high conviction rates as abnormal. The Government referred to its three-tier level trial system and cautious application of the death penalty. Japan did not consider that the high conviction rate indicates the possibility of a miscarriage of justice. It concluded that there is no need to consider the introduction of a moratorium or the abolition of the death penalty due to the high conviction rate. While it recognized that there was criticism against the substitute detention system, the Government noted that it makes various efforts to ensure appropriate treatment of the detainees. It also pointed out that the system does not discriminate between Japanese and foreign