A/HRC/12/50 1. Views expressed by the State under review on the recommendations and/or conclusions as well as on its voluntary commitments and on the outcome 595. The Head of Sector for Multilateral Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the recommendations made during the Working Group session largely corresponded to the priorities of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with regard to the promotion and protection of human rights, and would constitute an additional valuable guide in the country’s action in this area. The comments and suggestions clustered in 42 recommendations were generally acceptable for the State under review. 596. With regard to international treaties, the country had recently signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A working group consisting of representatives of ministries and non-governmental organizations had been established to carry out all necessary activities for the ratification of the Convention and the protocol. The procedure for the signature and consequent ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was expected to commence in the near future, and there were possibilities for the ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, as well as the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. On the rights of the child, the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child were taken into consideration fully in the assessment of the applicable laws and in the adoption of new legislation. The country UNICEF office was consulted and involved. A separate department for the rights of the child within the Ombudsman’s office was to be formally established, in line with the recently adopted amendments to the law on the Ombudsman. 597. The recent amendments to the law on Ombudsman were also aimed at the consistent implementation of the provisions of the law on the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. The new law strengthened the role and the financial independence of the Ombudsman, established as a national prevention mechanism, and ensured its financial independence in line with the Paris Principles. 598. On the Ohrid framework agreement and inter-ethnic relations recommendations, the framework agreement remained a priority for the Government, all envisaged laws regulating rights of non-majority communities had been adopted, and the recruitment procedures for persons belonging to non-majority communities were pursued according to envisaged dynamics. A committee of ministers had been established to monitor the implementation of the agreement and a series of projects implemented, including a joint UNDP, UNICEF and UNESCO project supported by the MDG Achievement Fund, centred on the improvement of inter-ethnic dialogue and cooperation among communities. A strategy entitled “Integration through education” was being drafted, the four national action and operative plans under the Roma Decade and Strategy had been revised, and the State was starting to implement a project for women in rural areas, including women belonging to ethnic communities. 599. On status registration, the law on registers set forth the obligation of registering the birth of a child; no fees were charged for documents and procedures. It had been established that the Roma population had the greatest problems with the registry records; among other things, a large number of educational and information meetings and debates had been organized by the Government and non-governmental organizations to deal with this problem. 600. The current penitentiary reform consists of two components: an improvement in the accommodation facilities for convicted prisoners, for remand prisoners and juveniles; and improvement in working conditions for the staff, and an increase in staff numbers. A training and education programme had been adopted, as well as an operative plan for staff 153