A/HRC/10/73 Page 11 and treason, and also take appropriate steps to reach the permanent abolition of the death penalty. Concerning the discrimination of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals, Sweden welcomed the clarification provided by the Minister on section 11 on the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. Sweden recommended that the Government consider introducing specific legislation and additional policy measures in order to promote tolerance and non-discrimination of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals. 45. Jamaica noted the State’s commitment to promote and protect human rights, being a party to most international human rights instruments. It noted its efforts made regarding the rights of vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, and congratulated Barbados on having attained the second Millennium Development Goal of ensuring universal primary education and for granting equal access to secondary education and tuition-free tertiary education. It urged the international community to support the State’s request for technical assistance with a view to building capacity, particularly for the preparation of human rights reports and the development of programmes for human rights education. 46. After thanking the distinguished participants for their insightful comments, the representative from Barbados answered some of the issues raised in the discussion. 47. The Minister referred to his previous statements, noting the constraints the country faces in fulfilling its reporting requirements in view of its limited resources. He noted that the establishment of a human rights unit in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade might allow more timely submissions of reports. The Minister also stressed that greater OHCHR support and presence in the Caribbean region is absolutely critical to building civil society support for the institutionalization of human rights protections and in recognizing the link between human rights and development. 48. With regard to the death penalty, the Head of Delegation indicated that the Government had no specific mandate from the people of Barbados to abolish the death penalty; in fact, all opinion polls and surveys taken in the country show that the public sentiment has been strongly in favour of keeping it. Therefore the Government has to engage in a full national dialogue before arriving at a consensus on this issue. Submissions have been made regarding the mandatory application of the death penalty in cases of murder or treason. The new Government has taken these into consideration and, through the Office of the Attorney General, will be working internally and will soon go to the public and civil society to gauge their responses to this issue. 49. The issue of corporal punishment has triggered a national debate. The Minister for Education publicly advocated for the abolition of corporal punishment in schools. This is not the official position of the Government, but it may move in that direction in future. 50. The Government has invested tremendous amounts of resources in the treatment of abused children and has requested social agencies to intervene not only at the point of abuse but as a preventative measure. The Child Care Board has been given the power to remove children from psychologically, sexually or physically abusive environments and to provide counselling for parents. The Government believes that violence against children is not only a criminal issue but a cultural one, requiring investigation into the economic and social pressures faced by parents.