A/HRC/12/50 396. Regarding the recent presidential elections in Afghanistan, they were a significant achievement despite the problems facing the Government. A strong international election monitoring group and a complaint commission were working in Afghanistan and their comments on the performance of the elections were awaited and any allegations in that regard were to be dealt with by them. 397. Civilian casualties in Afghanistan were a concern for both the Government and the international community, and they had reached an agreement to reduce civilian casualties to a minimum. However, opposition groups had been using civilians and their villages as a shelter, which was an issue that also needed to be considered. 398. Reference was made to the concerns expressed about the Shia personal status law in the May 2009 session of the Working Group. The law had been reviewed on the order of the President of Afghanistan, and most of the controversial provisions not in line with the Constitution or international commitments were removed; it was then published. The path for further amendment was open, as one particular provision of the law had raised concern. Afghanistan’s commitment to international conventions was firm. 399. Finally, Afghanistan expressed its sincere appreciation to the Council, its President and all delegations, as well as to OHCHR in connection with the universal periodic review process and for the promotion and protection of human rights in Afghanistan. Chile 400. The review of Chile was held on 8 May 2009 in conformity with all the relevant provisions contained in Council resolution 5/1, and was based on the national report submitted by Chile in accordance with the annex to Council resolution 5/1, paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/5/CHL/1); the compilation prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/5/CHL/2); and the summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/5/CHL/3). 401. At its 16th meeting, on 24 September 2009, the Council considered and adopted the outcome of the review on Chile (see section C below). 402. The outcome of the review on Chile comprises the report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (A/HRC/12/10), the views of Chile concerning the recommendations and/or conclusions, and its voluntary commitments and replies presented before the adoption of the outcome by the plenary to questions or issues that were not sufficiently addressed during the interactive dialogue in the Working Group. 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 403. The Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations Office at Geneva expressed Chile’s appreciation for the questions and recommendations made by 51 States from all regions, which had allowed increased efficiency in the implementation of its commitments. Chile had already adopted several measures responding to the concerns expressed during its review. 404. Chile reported that, on 29 June 2009, the Government had deposited the instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute. The Congress had also recently approved the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. 405. The Headquarters Agreement for the Establishment of an OHCHR Regional Office for South America had also been recently signed, and Chile would sign the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that very week. 123