A/HRC/18/8 the country for measures adopted to amend the Constitution, strengthen the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, as well as support civil society. Morocco made recommendations. 68. New Zealand stated that it had been working with Solomon Islands to achieve its goal of providing basic education for all and eliminating gender disparity in education. It commended the country for impressive progress made in achieving universal basic education and for having allocated high levels of the budget for that purpose. It expressed concern about the situation of women, noting the absence of women in Parliament and the violence against women. It noted improvement in prison conditions and commended the country for having signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It made recommendations. 69. China took note of efforts by Solomon Islands to, inter alia, improve the level of education and health services in the country. It noted with concern that there was widespread discrimination against women across the country and severe poverty and a lack of effective guarantee for economic, social and cultural rights of the people. China expressed the hope that Solomon Islands would pay attention to economic and social development and that effective measures would be taken to achieve gender equality, poverty elimination and other Millennium Development Goals. China rejected the reference to “Republic of China” and “Taiwan” in the national report of Solomon Islands. It emphasized that, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 2758, the Peoples’ Republic of China was the only legitimate representative of the entire country, of which Taiwan was an integral part. 70. Ecuador welcomed Solomon Islands Government’s efforts to eliminate child malnutrition and maternal mortality and progress in the area of universal education. It made recommendations. 71. Indonesia recognized that Solomon Islands was still confronted by a number of challenges which continued to impede progress on human rights and national development. It noted progress achieved in providing access to universal primary education through the Free-Fee Basic Education Policy, which permitted the country to bring within reach the attainment of millennium development goal 2. It was concerned by the fact that gender inequality remained an issue, but appreciated the frankness of the Government in conceding that more needed to be done to ensure the promotion and protection of the rights of women at all levels. Indonesia made recommendations. 72. Slovakia commended Solomon Islands for measures adopted with a view to ensuring gender equality in its domestic law and took note with appreciation of the adoption of national policy plans on children and youth and the Government’s initiative to consider establishing a national human rights institution. It noted concerns regarding child labour, lack of birth registration and the low minimum age of criminal responsibility. While commending the country for providing free education, Slovakia expressed concern about the high level of children not being enrolled due to infrastructure shortages and the fact that education was not compulsory. Slovakia made recommendations. 73. The Philippines commended the Government for having ratified or signed a number of human rights instruments despite the challenges the country faced. It encouraged the international community to increase its assistance and support for Solomon Islands, especially in the field of poverty eradication and education. It requested information on plans and cooperation projects aimed at improving the quality of education and on specific programmes seeking to address the equitable access to education of children with disabilities. It also asked how the delegation wished the Human Rights Council to address the human costs of climate change. It made recommendations. 11