A/HRC/12/9 Page 5 15. On the right to education, the delegation provided information on some positive developments. In 2008 more than 6 million students attended schools, one third of whom were girls with 15,842 attending schools in rural areas. Adult literacy courses for women had opened all over the country. However, major challenges remained, including the destruction of schools by armed anti-Government forces, the shortage of qualified teachers particularly in rural areas, the shortage of financial and technical resources and low salaries for teachers. 16. The delegation pointed out that ensuring the right to life of citizens has been one of the biggest challenges. It is often violated through civilian casualties and suicide bombings. 17. Concerning media and freedom of expression, the delegation explained that there were three national and 21 local television stations in the country, only one was State-run. Some 57 radio stations operated throughout the country and hundreds of newspapers and pamphlets published in an environment free of fear and censorship. He noted some of the main challenges, such as the lack of professionalism in some journalistic circles and the intimidation of journalists by armed anti-Government forces. 18. Regarding efforts in the area of non-discrimination and equality, over the last seven years Afghanistan made some major achievements in ensuring women’s rights, including the formation of the Ministry of Women Affairs. Twenty-eight per cent of the National Assembly members were women, the highest proportion in the region. However, due to insecurity in some provinces, a culture of immunity from punishment, low awareness of women’s rights, particularly among women themselves, old and harmful superstitious customs and lack of job opportunities were among the most pressing challenges. 19. Reference was made to measures taken concerning the rights of minorities, human trafficking and the rights of the child. Afghanistan has about 1,000,000 disabled persons. The Government cannot extend sufficient assistance to them due to lack of resources and facilities. However, the Law on the rights and benefits of disabled people and the Law on victims of war and their families have been adopted. 20. Currently a total of 3.3 million Afghans live in neighboring countries. The Government has made efforts to alleviate the situation but success depends on the level of cooperation by the host countries. 21. The delegation considered that the UPR State reporting process provided a unique opportunity to highlight the achievements and the challenges of human rights in Afghanistan and a good opportunity for the international community and other human rights actors in the world to put the situation of Afghanistan in a realistic comparative analytical perspective and consider its problems and challenges. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 22. During the interactive dialogue 59 delegations made statements. A number of delegations appreciated the balanced report prepared by Afghanistan, indicating, inter alia, progress made and remaining constraints and challenges. 23. Algeria expressed concern about the situation of civilians affected by armed conflict, especially yesterday’s victims in Afghanistan and requested clarification of the President’s refusal to sign the “National Reconciliation Charter”. Algeria made a number of recommendations concerning: the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, achieving