A/HRC/14/37 withdrawal of its reservation to article 9 (2) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and expressed its confidence that Egypt would adopt a similar approach to other human rights instruments and pursue human rights promotion and the protection of all people. 636. Oman noted that the interactive, frank and open dialogue held at the Working Group session in February 2010 clearly showed the cooperative approach taken by Egypt. Oman appreciated the acceptance by Egypt of most recommendations, as well as its commitment to their implementation, which demonstrated the importance accorded by Egypt to strengthening its human rights mechanisms and concepts. Oman expressed the hope that the adoption of the final report would contribute to the strengthening of Egypt’s continuous efforts to promote and protect human rights. 637. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) highlighted Egypt’s social policies, in particular the progress made in the promotion and protection of cultural rights through concrete measures aimed at empowering traditionally excluded sectors of the population. It noted that Egypt’s widespread consultations for the preparation of the national report, due to continue after the current review, and its acceptance of most recommendations demonstrated its commitment to the universal periodic review mechanism and its strong will to promote and protect human rights. 638. The United States of America congratulated Egypt on having passed anti-trafficking legislation and commended its support for the recommendation that it revise relevant laws and practices to ensure compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including for bloggers and access to the Internet. The delegation expressed concern about the continued killings of migrants on the border with Israel, the reasons provided by Egypt for the imprisonment of bloggers, and the renewal of the state of emergency in May 2010. It welcomed the subsequent release of prisoners held under the emergency law, and called for additional releases. The delegation regarded the recommendations partially accepted by Egypt as noted, and regretted its decision not to support a significant number of recommendations regarding religion and political freedom. It also expressed concern about reports of fraud during the Shura election on 1 June. 3. General comments made by other relevant stakeholders 639. The Egyptian National Council for Human Rights commended Egypt for accepting 119 recommendations and its total or partial acceptance of 21 of the 25 pending recommendations. It called upon Egypt to end the state of emergency and to release all persons detained under the emergency law beyond the scope of the new limitations; to expedite the implementation of the principle of citizenship by promulgating the unified law for places of worship and the law on equal opportunities and the eradication of discrimination; and to ensure the participation of the Council and other non-governmental organizations in preparing amendments to guarantee freedom of association. It underscored the importance of proper and prompt implementation of the recommendations accepted by the Government and stated its intention to monitor the process with the participation of civil society. 640. The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies questioned the sincerity of Egypt in complying with the recommendations it had accepted, in particular concerning freedom of opinion and expression, and cited the example of two bloggers and an Internet activist still held in detention under the emergency law without having been charged and without a trial. Although the President of Egypt had promised more than five years previously to eliminate imprisonment in press cases, there were still 23 different provisions in the penal code leading to the imprisonment of journalists and writers, which cast doubt on the seriousness of the Government. 144 GE.12-17781