A/HRC/39/5 sectors. It praised Cabo Verde for its cooperation with the United Nations human rights mechanisms. 46. Equatorial Guinea lauded the progress Cabo Verde had made in the field of social protection. It reaffirmed that the International Labour Organization (ILO) had stated in 2015 that Cabo Verde had become one of the leaders in Africa with regard to establishing a minimum level of social coverage. It praised Cabo Verde for the improvements it had made on the housing situation and the promotion of that human right through the prominent Housing for All programme. 47. Ethiopia noted with appreciation the efforts Cabo Verde had made towards changing the national and international legal and institutional frameworks for the promotion and protection of human rights. It commended it on the 2016–2021 programme that strategized several inclusion measures, such as the development of a plan to combat poverty and social exclusion based on access to income, employment and economic development. 48. France commended the measures it had taken to improve the human rights situation in the country, in particular to combat poverty and to improve access to housing. 49. Gabon praised the steps Cabo Verde had taken in combating poverty and vulnerability and promoting gender equality. It referred to the social coverage Cabo Verde had provided to the elderly and persons with chronic illnesses or disabilities as proof of its willingness to guarantee the rights of vulnerable people. 50. Georgia appreciated the steps Cabo Verde had taken to implement the recommendations from previous review cycles. It welcomed the issuance of a standing invitation to all special procedure mandate holders and the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. It also welcomed the efforts Cabo Verde had made to bring the National Commission for Human Rights and Citizenship into conformity with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). 51. Germany commended Cabo Verde on the progress it had made in protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation, in particular the revision of the Penal Code. It welcomed its efforts to improve the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. Germany remained concerned by the existing discriminatory stereotypes and patriarchal attitudes in Cabo Verde concerning the roles of women and men in society, as well as the persistence of violence against women, particularly in the domestic sphere. 52. Ghana lauded the commitment of Cabo Verde to the promotion and protection of human rights in many areas, such as the Third Growth and Poverty-reduction Strategy (2012–2016), the National Migration Strategy and the adoption in 2013 of the National Immigration Strategy for Development. It noted positively the adoption of the National Plan (2014–2018) to Combat Gender-based Violence. It welcomed the Strategic Education Plan (2017–2021) that aimed to mainstream human rights, gender equality and citizenship into the school curriculum. It encouraged the Government to continue its efforts to revise basic and secondary school education programmes and curricula. 53. Honduras welcomed the important achievements Cabo Verde had made in implementing the recommendations it had accepted during its previous review. It welcomed the significant advances and achievements, in particular the adoption of the National Plan to Combat Gender-based Violence (2014–2018), the establishment of support centres for victims, the Third Growth and Poverty-reduction Strategy (2012–2016). It also welcomed the adoption of the National Strategy on Migration as well as the Plan of Action and Coordination Unit for the implementation of the Strategy. 54. Hungary recognized the progress Cabo Verde had made in terms of its legal and institutional framework. It commended the Government for having made social protection a high priority on the development agenda. Major steps had been taken by the Government to reduce the level of poverty and vulnerability of the target population. It noted that the National Plan to Combat Gender-based Violence (2014–2018) did not cover trafficking or the exploitation of women and children through prostitution and that the amended Penal 6