A/HRC/12/50 342. Malaysia thanked New Zealand for its written responses to the recommendations and welcomed the acceptance by New Zealand of a number of recommendations, including those relating to efforts aimed at eradicating all form of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and Malaysia’s recommendation relating to trafficking in women and children and exploitation of women and girls in prostitution. Malaysia believed that New Zealand’s preparedness to address some of the issues related to intercultural and inter-faith relations would contribute positively to its effort in further instilling a culture of tolerance, inter-ethnic and intercultural understanding in the country. Malaysia hoped that the Government would fully implement the recommendations and outcomes of the review. 343. Sweden welcomed New Zealand’s advanced responses to the recommendations and its support of Sweden’s recommendation regarding violence against women. Sweden noted that it was unclear to what extent the Government had committed itself to recommendations that were only partially agreed to. Regarding the overrepresentation of Maori and Pacific persons in the criminal justice system, Sweden regretted that New Zealand could only agree in part to Sweden’s recommendations, and recommended continuing efforts to address this issue. Sweden expressed the hope that New Zealand would continue working on those problems and include all factors that could explain why certain groups were overrepresented. 344. The Islamic Republic of Iran regretted that some recommendations, including the ones put forward by Iran, had not been accepted. It reiterated that there were still some concerns about the overall situation of human rights in New Zealand, in particular regarding the situation of Maori and Asian and Pacific minorities. It encouraged New Zealand to bring its domestic legislation, policies and practices into full compliance with international law and to take serious efforts to further improve the rights of minorities and decrease disparities between Maori and non-Maori. Noting the poorly defined terms of the counter-terrorism legislation, it recommended that New Zealand ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and to review its position on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 345. The United States of America commended New Zealand for accepting, in whole or in part, most of the recommendations. It noted New Zealand’s intention to consider accession to additional human rights instruments, and its determination to protect the rights of minorities and indigenous persons. It appreciated New Zealand’s commitment to combating human trafficking, and welcomed the acceptance of the recommendation to record and document cases of trafficking in women and children as well as of the exploitation of migrant women and girls in prostitution, and to share information on trafficking cases as appropriate within the region. The United States strongly urged New Zealand to consider including domestic trafficking crimes within the scope of its antitrafficking law. 3. General comments made by other relevant stakeholders 346. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission appreciated the State’s active engagement with the universal periodic review. It emphasized the importance of action in seven priority areas identified by the Government, including implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; support for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; more systematic incorporation of international human rights obligations, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, into domestic legislation, policies and practices; further consideration of the status of the treaty of Waitangi; and action on all forms of unlawful discrimination and socio-economic disparities. It indicated that stronger responses to recommendations on gender equality and the pay gap would have been welcomed. 114