A/HRC/44/5 87. Gabon welcomed measures taken to combat female genital mutilation and to promote legal access to work and education for girls. It congratulated Guinea on the entry into force of the law establishing the independent national institution for human rights. 88. Georgia commended the ratification by Guinea of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and welcomed the progress made in establishing and reinforcing human rights institutions despite challenging economic circumstances. 89. Germany welcomed the fact that capital punishment was no longer part of the criminal law. It remained concerned about restrictions on the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression and noted that implementation of universal periodic review recommendations in that regard was still lacking. 90. Ghana commended the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It welcomed the establishment of new institutions, including the independent national human rights institution. 91. Honduras welcomed the ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the abolition of the death penalty in the new Criminal Code and the new Code of Military Justice. 92. Iceland welcomed the national report and the steps outlined therein and expressed hope for their continued implementation. 93. India welcomed the ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and encouraged Guinea to implement projects and programmes aimed at poverty reduction, promotion of employment and the boosting of agricultural yields to ensure enjoyment of socioeconomic rights, including equal access to quality education for all. 94. Indonesia commended Guinea for adopting numerous new national laws to improve the rule of law and the promotion and protection of human rights, as a follow-up to its second universal periodic review. 95. The Islamic Republic of Iran acknowledged several positive steps, including the adoption of the law on equal opportunities for persons with disabilities, which contributed to the creation of equal opportunities for that vulnerable segment of society. 96. Iraq welcomed the ratification by Guinea of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It also welcomed the strengthening of human rights institutions. 97. Ireland commended the progress made since the previous universal periodic review cycle, particularly the abolition of the death penalty and the criminalization of torture in the revised Criminal Code. It expressed hope that the existing death sentences would be commuted and urged Guinea to prevent cases of torture and ill-treatment. 98. Italy welcomed the adoption of the new Criminal Code, through which Guinea had abolished the death penalty, criminalized torture and provided for punishments for such offences as the recruitment of child soldiers, which was considered a war crime. 99. Japan commended the efforts made by Guinea to strengthen its institutional framework for the protection of human rights, despite its economic challenges. It welcomed the measures taken by Guinea to promote the empowerment of women and youth. 100. Latvia noted measures taken by the Government and encouraged further efforts in fulfilling human rights obligations and commitments. 101. Lesotho commended Guinea for strides made in protecting and promoting the rights of citizens through the enactment of various pieces of legislation safeguarding those rights. 102. Libya commended the efforts made by Guinea to implement several accepted recommendations of the previous review, especially recommendations related to the protection and of promotion of human rights and the rule of law. It also welcomed the 9