A/HRC/41/12/Add.1 1. In accordance with the established procedure for the final adoption of national reports on human rights, the Union of the Comoros has the honour to submit its position on the relevant recommendations made at the previous session in the course of its universal periodic review. 2. The Comoros renews the commitments it made at that session to take sustainable and institutionalized steps to ensure, insofar as possible, the full enjoyment of all human rights, as set out by the Human Rights Council and by all other international and regional bodies dealing with this important matter. 3. As reflected in the report on its third periodic review (A/HRC/41/12), the Comoros received 177 recommendations; it accepted 163 of these and needed to state its position on 14, namely recommendations 119.1, 119.2, 119.3, 119.4, 119.5, 119.6, 119.7, 119.8, 119.9, 119.10, 119.11, 119.12, 119.13 and 119.14. 4. After an in-depth examination of the 14 recommendations for which the Government requested time for consideration, the Comoros hereby has the honour to convey its position on each of the 14 recommendations. 5. Recommendation 119.1 advocates abolishing the death penalty and ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 6. The Government of the Comoros is opposed to the death penalty. It has begun the process of abolition, by adding provisions to that end in the new draft Criminal Code submitted to the Assembly of the Union. It will now be necessary to convince the Assembly members, the majority of whom have so far been against abolition. 7. However, the delegation wishes to stress that the use of the death penalty in the Comoros remains exceptional. Since independence was gained in 1975, it has only been carried out three times and has not been carried out at all since 2009. 8. Owing to the hostility of the majority of parliamentarians and the general population, however, the Comoros notes recommendation 119.1. 9. Recommendations 119.2, 119.3, 119.4, 119.5 and 119.6 deal with all forms of discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation (Chile, Iceland, Spain, Australia, Honduras). 10. The Comoros continues to consider that this is a private matter for individuals. Furthermore, there have been no reported cases of violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender. 11. The Comoros notes recommendations 119.2, 119.3, 119.4, 119.5 and 119.6. 12. Recommendations 119.7 and 119.8 advocate putting in place measures to better protect people of all religions and beliefs and allow them to practise their faith openly without any risk of discrimination (Canada, Italy). 13. On this question, the delegation reaffirms that the Comorian people, in accordance with the Constitution, adhere to and are devotees of the Shafi’i school of Islam, which is the foundation of social cohesion and identity. 14. This reaffirmation is partly explained by the appearance of insidious and very active forms of proselytism, a new phenomenon that threatens the fragile structural stability of the young Comorian State and that risks endangering the social and religious harmony that has always prevailed in the Comoros. 15. Like Comorian society, the Islam practised in the country is very tolerant and that heritage must be preserved. 16. For the time being, the Comoros notes these recommendations from Canada and Italy. 17. Recommendations 119.9, 119.10, 119.11 and 119.13 deal with the prohibition of corporal punishment of children in all settings by enacting legislation for that purpose. 18. The delegation of the Comoros was very surprised by the focus placed on this issue through the numerous recommendations received, since the issue does not appear to pose 2 GE.19-10327