A/HRC/38/17 9. In 2014, the Government of Serbia had established the Council for Monitoring the Implementation of the Recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms. The Council’s main goal was to facilitate more effective monitoring of recommendations that were received, and to improve intersectoral cooperation on their implementation. It had developed a plan for the implementation of all recommendations that United Nations human rights mechanisms made to Serbia. The plan for 2018 was to link the implementation of each recommendation from the United Nations mechanisms to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. 10. An adequate legal framework and sufficient resources had been provided for the operation of independent State bodies. In May 2015, the National Assembly had appointed a new Commissioner for the Protection of Equality. The Commissioner’s office had moved to larger premises in 2016. A new Protector of Citizens (Ombudsman) had been appointed in July 2017 and the Action Plan for Negotiating Chapter 23 concerning accession to the European Union encompassed measures to strengthen the capacities of the Ombudsman’s Office. 11. Training courses in the field of human rights were organized continuously and at all levels, and records were kept on them. 12. The National Judicial Reform Strategy for the period 2013–2018 had been adopted, as had the accompanying action plan. The Government had identified the need to amend the Constitution in relation to the influence exerted by the legislative and executive authorities over the process of the election and dismissal of judges, presidents of courts and public prosecutors, and over the election of members of the High Judicial Council and the State Prosecutors’ Council. 13. Serbia had ratified all the most important international instruments on fighting corruption. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy for the period 2013–2018 identified sectors that were considered to be at particular risk of corruption. 14. The National Assembly had elected a new War Crimes Prosecutor on 15 May 2017 and the Government had adopted the National Strategy for the Prosecution of War Crimes for the period 2016–2020. Serbia continued to cooperate with the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals as the legal successor to the International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991. 15. The definition of torture in the Criminal Code would be amended as part of the process of bringing the Code into accordance with international standards. A higher level of expertise and awareness of the need for zero tolerance of torture would be achieved through continuous training of law enforcement officers, judges and officers responsible for enforcing criminal sanctions. Measures based on the recommendations of the United Nations Committee against Torture and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment were being actively implemented. 16. The Penal Sanctions Enforcement System Development Strategy to be enforced by 2020 and the accompanying action plan contained detailed measures for improving prison conditions. 17. Serbia had tackled the migrant and refugee crisis responsibly and had demonstrated its commitment to international and European values and standards. The Migration Profile had been developed as a tool for monitoring migration flows and trends. The Commissariat for Refugees and Migration maintained databases of refugees and internally displaced persons, and records of asylum seekers and migrants who had been placed at the permanent asylum centres and reception centres. All migrants and refugees were provided with appropriate accommodation, with all standards ensured. In addition, social work centres and social security institutions had been instructed to manage emergency accommodation, guardianship of underage migrants and refugees, adequate health care and psychosocial support. Underage migrants and refugees were offered the chance to participate in the formal education system. The adoption in 2014 of the Law on the Employment of Foreigners had constituted a significant development for migrants, refugees and internally 3