A/HRC/10/70 Page 9 Republic recommended that the age of criminal responsibility of children be raised. It also recommended that a standing invitation be issued to special procedures. 27. Germany welcomed the frank report of the Bahamas and the answers to the written questions. With regard to corporal punishment of children and the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in this regard, Germany asked the Bahamas to elaborate on the distinction between corporal punishment and physical abuse in punishing children and the criteria when corporal punishment amounts to physical abuse. Germany recommended that the Bahamas abolish the death penalty. It also recommended that the Bahamas, as recommended by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, establish effective mechanisms in accordance with the Paris Principles, especially with regard to children’s rights, which are lacking in the Bahamas Constitution. 28. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland noted that the reports prepared show that the Bahamas has ratified some United Nations human rights treaties and that it will soon accede to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and encouraged the Bahamas to do this as soon as possible. It noted past concerns about the activities of the security forces and welcomed efforts made to build capacity within the police, prison and defence forces to observe, respect and protect the rights of the individual. The reports provided as a basis for this review indicated concern about violence against women, and in particular domestic violence. The United Kingdom asked for more information about the steps the Bahamas is taking to protect women from violence. It welcomed the passing of the Domestic Violence (Protection Order) Act in March 2007. In order to enhance the protection of women, the United Kingdom recommended that existing legislation be amended so as to outlaw marital rape. It noted that, in 2006, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council abolished the mandatory death sentence for those convicted of murder in the Bahamas and ruled that the mandatory death sentence was in violation of the Bahamian Constitution. The United Kingdom recognized this positive step and recommended that further action be considered to repeal provisions allowing for the death penalty, including by becoming a party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. The United Kingdom asked the Government about its plans to involve civil society in the follow-up to the review, and recommended that the Government of the Bahamas ensure that civil society is involved in the implementation of the outcome of the review. 29. Brazil noted that significant progress had been achieved in areas such as the fight against racism, the promotion of gender equality and combating human trafficking. It noted the concerns of the Government to promote and protect human rights as essential elements of social and economic development. In the area of fighting discrimination, Brazil highlighted the adequacy of policies aimed at improving the social and economic living standards of its disadvantaged black majority. Brazil also noted that, although education receives the largest percentage of the Bahamian annual national budget, challenges still persist in key specific areas, such as migration and the rights of children. Brazil asked how the Government intended to address the concerns of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination about the issue of undocumented migrants and asylum-seekers. Brazil recommended that the Government of Bahamas consider establishing a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, in accordance with General Assembly resolution A/62/149, adopted on 2 February 2008. Brazil also proposed that the Bahamian authorities consider increasing dialogue with treaty bodies and special procedures.