A/HRC/33/7 25. While Greece was concerned that domestic violence had reached alarming proportions, it was encouraged that women were breaking their silence and that their reports might lead to prosecutions. A national programme in the field had contributed to increasing the visibility of domestic violence as a crime. 26. Greece noted that the economic crisis had disproportionately affected vulnerable groups such as the Roma and a series of measures would be implemented in almost all municipalities. 27. Human rights education and citizenship education were priorities and the refugee inflows had made child refugees’ and young people’s access to education imperative. 28. Greece intended to address proposals to ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights favourably and would actively consider ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure in the context of the National Action Plan on the Rights of the Child. A working group was preparing legislative proposals for the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Accession to the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness would be considered in due course. The process for ratifying the amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on the crime of aggression had been initiated. 29. Greece stressed that freedom of expression and association were fully protected, without discrimination. In Thrace, where the Muslim minority lived, numerous minority associations had been registered by the courts and operated unimpeded. Greece was considering appropriate ways to execute three judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in which violations of the right to freedom of association had been found. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 30. During the interactive dialogue, 88 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 31. The United Arab Emirates welcomed the achievements of Greece, including the recent law on the establishment of a National Board against Racism and Intolerance. 32. The United Kingdom welcomed the steps taken to implement the recommendations from the first review, the establishment of the National Action Plan on Human Rights, the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the recognition of same-sex unions. 33. The United States of America raised concern about instances of discrimination against members of the Muslim minority in Thrace and against Roma, as well as hate speech by public officials against members of religious and other minorities. 34. Uruguay noted the efforts of Greece in the face of the economic crisis and welcomed the development of a new action plan on gender equality. 35. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela commended Greece for the measures it had taken to provide the poorest families with free electricity, rental subsidies, food and a minimum income, and for its efforts to address the migration crisis. 36. Albania congratulated Greece on the presentation of its report. 37. Algeria welcomed the adoption of the National Action Plan on Human Rights and of the law establishing a National Board against Racism and Intolerance. 6