A/HRC/31/10 August 2015, Parliament considered a report on constitutional reform that addressed issues such as the death penalty and corporal punishment. Panama made recommendations. 80. Paraguay appreciated the willingness of the Government to follow up on the recommendations accepted during the first universal periodic review. Paraguay considered that the inter-institutional consultation launched to prepare the second review was timely and necessary. It welcomed the collaboration with the Governments of Brazil and Mexico to address water and sanitation problems and encouraged Saint Lucia to continue working with other countries and international organizations. It expressed concern over the lack of a national human rights institution and encouraged the Government to consider the possibility of requesting cooperation on a bilateral basis or with OHCHR. Paraguay noted the high number of persons imprisoned before being sentenced and acknowledged the efforts that Saint Lucia had made to address this issue as a priority. Paraguay made recommendations. 81. The Philippines noted with appreciation the ratification of optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the accession to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, and the enactment of legislation to criminalize trafficking in persons. It recognized challenges faced by Saint Lucia as a small island developing State vulnerable to climate change and commended its commitment to working with development partners to advance socioeconomic rights. The Philippines appreciated steps taken to address gender parity, including in education, as well as efforts to implement the National Strategic Plan for Health and to introduce reforms in the juvenile justice system. It expressed interest in hearing about the country’s experience in human rights education and training of law enforcement officials. The Philippines made recommendations. 82. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland encouraged a more transparent and timely response from Saint Lucia to the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security report into allegations of extrajudicial killings by police officers. It welcomed the approved “use-of-force policy”. It encouraged the Government to continue to develop its human rights training for law enforcement officers, to put in place strong channels of oversight, monitoring and communication between police and child protection agencies to develop a more effective response to the abuse of children, to promote a culture of tolerance and to take concrete action to end all discrimination, including gender-based discrimination and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. It made recommendations. 83. The delegation of Saint Lucia acknowledged the comments made by a number of delegations with regard to the impact of climate change. It invited the Working Group to take note of the devastating impact of climate change on a small island developing State like Saint Lucia and the reality that, from time to time, Governments of such States had to reprioritize in order to meet their international commitments and obligations. 84. The delegation wished to place on record the intention of Saint Lucia to take cognizance of the recommendations made and concerns expressed. It considered it a privilege to participate in the universal periodic review process, which it viewed as a fundamental instrument for securing and safeguarding the human rights of all the citizens of the island. 85. The delegation recalled that Saint Lucia was a young democracy, only 36 years old, and that it was at a critical stage of its democratic development. The incorporation of the people-centred 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the process of reforming the Constitution would affect every citizen in Saint Lucia. The Government’s yardstick for measuring the success of those processes was to ensure that the benefits to be derived would always be within the reach of its people, for this generation and generations to come. 13

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