A/HRC/15/60 1. Views expressed by the State under review on the recommendations and/or conclusions, and on its voluntary commitments and the outcome 670. The Legal Counsel with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cletche Sanha, thanked Council Members for their understanding, noting with satisfaction that the Council had acknowledged the difficulties and limitations faced by Guinea-Bissau. The country had made major efforts to attend the universal periodic review, which was a crucial phase in the adoption of the final document. 671. Of the 108 recommendations made during the review, 103 recommendations had been accepted, 2 had already been implemented or were in the process of implementation, while 5 were rejected. 672. With regard to the ratification procedures of international legal human rights instruments, Guinea-Bissau had incorporated into its internal legal framework, and in line with the Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocols thereto on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and on the involvement of children in armed conflict; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Optional Protocol thereto; the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) and the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) of ILO; the Convention on Access to Information, Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters; the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. 673. With regard to the implementation in domestic legislation of instruments to which Guinea-Bissau was already a party, the provisions of the above-mentioned conventions were reflected in many parts of national legislation, particularly the Constitution, the General Labour Law, the Public Servant Law, the Penal Code, the Civil Code and the Electoral Law. 674. Concerning the issue of reporting to treaty bodies, Guinea-Bissau had submitted combined initial, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth periodic reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its forty-fourth session, at the Committee’s request. At the request of other committees, particularly the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, GuineaBissau restated its readiness to cooperate despite the major difficulties and limitations the country was facing. 675. Regarding the adoption of specific legislation criminalizing female genital mutilation and a law against domestic violence, the process was ongoing, as the country had just started awareness-raising campaigns for the targeted population. The Government was working in partnership with the Institute for Women and Children and with nongovernmental organizations pursuing the same aim. Once this first stage was completed, the authorities would be able to move on to the second stage, namely the adoption of specific legislation criminalizing the above-mentioned practices. The country had already a preliminary draft bill along these lines. 676. In that regard, the delegation emphasized that the fight against practices, such as early and forced marriage, in a society such as in Guinea-Bissau should be conducted gradually, through awareness-raising campaigns, sensitization and continuous dialogue GE.11-17043 183