A/HRC/10/73 Page 12 51. The Constitution of Barbados provides protection against discrimination for gays and lesbians. Pending a full report, the Government is considering a set of laws pertaining to discrimination. Given that the Office of the Attorney General faces enormous pressure owing to constraints on resources and a backlog of pending legislation, the Government would require technical assistance in drafting legislation. 52. Free access to education at the university level has led to a doubling of the number of women university students (the current ratio is two to one, women to men). Today there are female permanent secretaries across the Government system, including the Head of Public Services, the Head of the Central Bank and the Accountant General, and the Government remains committed to increasing female political participation and representation. 53. When the interactive dialogue resumed, the Czech Republic recommended the adoption of further measures to ensure the incorporation of the State’s international human rights obligations into national legislation, accession to the Convention against Torture and the Optional Protocol thereto and the establishment of an effective national preventive mechanism, in compliance with the Optional Protocol. It further recommended the decriminalization of consensual same-sex activity between adults and the adoption of measures to promote tolerance in this regard, which would encourage more effective educational programmes for the prevention of HIV/AIDS. 54. Argentina noted that the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS was identified as a national priority and the trafficking of persons as one of the challenges. It noted that, while the Constitution prohibits torture, in the domestic legislation there is no definition of torture in line with article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and it suggested that measures be adopted and that Barbados consider ratifying the Convention against Torture. Argentina also noted that the death penalty has not been applied for 24 years but that it still exists, and therefore suggested that Barbados consider the possibility of acceding to Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant with a view to abolishing the death penalty. 55. Japan noted the Government’s commitment to improving the human rights situation and urged it to expeditiously ratify the Convention against Torture and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. With regard to racial discrimination, Japan requested further explanation of what is being done on a legal as well as societal level to eliminate it, including how the High Court can serve each individual to seek redress in respect of such violation of human rights. Japan noted the large proportion of children who are victims of physical, psychological and emotional abuse and of corporal punishment. It noted that laws do not provide for granting refugee status and do not codify the principle of non-refoulement. Japan also noted the absence of an integrated national plan to address discrimination against women and on the grounds of sex, enquiring about the measures taken to improve the human rights situation. Regarding the issue of human trafficking, it noted the efforts to address the issue and requested information on additional measures that will be taken in future to improve the situation. 56. Italy acknowledged with satisfaction a long de facto moratorium on executions and recommended that the establishment of a de jure moratorium on the use of death penalty be considered, with a view to abolishing capital punishment in national legislation. It also recommended that discrimination against women be properly addressed, also by sensitizing civil society. Italy recommended taking appropriate legislative and administrative measures to fight