A/HRC/37/6 18. Gabon had developed a sectoral action plan and a national strategy on birth registration and had established simplified procedures. Almost 15,000 applications for late birth registration were pending. 19. Ritual crimes, including the removal of organs, had been addressed through a presidential order issued to the Government and key actors in the fight against murder and similar crimes with the aim of bringing to justice the perpetrators of such crimes. A bill on mandatory sentencing for such crimes was before Parliament, and the bill on the amendment of the Criminal Code provided for a significant increase in the penalties for such crimes. 20. The delegation also noted that Gabon was continuing its efforts to improve detention conditions, including through vaccination campaigns in prisons. Prison monitoring commissions had been established at every trial court in application of article 531 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 21. In the area of juvenile justice, a decree on the rehabilitation of prisoners through work had been developed in conjunction with UNICEF and adopted in 2014 pursuant to the law on minors. A centre for entrepreneurship would be set up in each prison to provide training for minors in detention and help young people find work after their release. 22. An interministerial commission established in 2014 was reviewing the legislation to combat trafficking in persons with the aim of revising Act No. 9/2004 on Preventing and Combating Child Trafficking. Persons convicted of human trafficking offences were not eligible for reduced sentences. 23. The delegation also informed the Working Group that efforts to strengthen the rights of persons with disabilities were focused on empowerment, including integration into the workforce. Those efforts included partnership agreements between the Government and businesses, support from the economic empowerment fund set up to promote incomegenerating activities, the allocation of social housing, the provision of mobility aids and improved access to public buildings. Act No. 9/2015 established procedures for the care of persons with mental illness. 24. In January 2017, Gabon had developed a new Communications Code that took account of proceedings involving complaints against the press, guaranteed freedom of the press and the independence of journalists and decriminalized offences against the legislation on the press. The National Media Council had been converted into a regulatory authority with legal status as an independent administrative body. 25. In order to safeguard the rights of minorities more effectively, the Government had worked with UNICEF to organize campaigns to process late birth registrations in local communities. The Government had also signed the first agreement on community forest management. 26. Concluding its introductory remarks, the delegation underscored the willingness of Gabon to continue its efforts to promote and protect human rights, with technical support from the Human Rights Council, and to respond to questions in a spirit of constructive dialogue. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 27. During the interactive dialogue, 73 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 28. Chile welcomed the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, and encouraged Gabon to continue cooperating with international and regional mechanisms and civil society, in order to achieve gender equality and full respect of the rights of women and girls. 29. China commended efforts to promote socioeconomic development, reduce poverty, improve the education infrastructure, adopt a national health policy, combat domestic 4 GE.17-23556