A/HRC/18/3 38. When Belgium had signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe, it had made a reservation with a view to subsequently defining the term “national minority”. No such definition had been agreed upon in Belgium as yet, however. 39. Belgium stood ready to re-examine its declarations and reservations regarding international human rights instruments in order to determine whether they were still pertinent and justified and, if they were found not to be, to withdraw them. 40. Three laws against racism, discrimination and denial of the Holocaust, together with the 2004 National Plan of Action, formed the mainstays of the fight against discrimination and against the incitement of hatred. Belgium had stepped up its efforts to combat xenophobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Measures taken to that end included the establishment of monitoring and surveillance units, the creation of a cyberhate crimes unit and the prosecution of offenders in the courts. 41. Political parties could not be banned under Belgian law and did not have legal personality. Members of political parties could be prosecuted, however, for acts of violence or discrimination and for inciting hatred. Parties could also be denied public funding, and their individual associations could be dissolved. 42. There were no legal provisions either prohibiting or authorizing the use of veils in schools. Schools were free to incorporate provisions on the subject into their own rules in line with their particular educational philosophy. Parents’ freedom of choice was guaranteed both de jure and de facto. 43. With a prison occupancy rate of 118 per cent, Belgium definitely had a problem with overcrowding, especially in the case of persons being held in pretrial detention. A number of measures were being taken to address the situation: new prisons had been opened; some prisoners had been temporarily moved to facilities that had been leased in the Netherlands; non-custodial alternatives, early-release programmes, electronic monitoring and limited sentences were being used; and international agreements were being entered into on the transfer of inmates to their country of origin. 44. Since 2000, Belgium had repealed an article that had allowed minors to be held in prison for up to 15 days. Minors aged 16 or over could be tried as adults only for serious crimes in cases where the regulations on the protection of young people were inapplicable. Under-age offenders were held in closed centres where they received special support. 45. A sharp increase in demand had overwhelmed the reception facilities for asylumseekers. Between 2007 and 2011, the number of people seeking asylum had risen by approximately 120 per cent. Over the same period, Belgium had increased the capacity of its reception facilities by almost 50 per cent. 46. Any excessive use of force by police officers in prisons, whether during the expulsion of foreigners or in any other case, was punished by means of the application of disciplinary and judicial measures. Police behaviour was overseen by the legislature (through the Standing Committee on the Supervision of Police Services (Committee P)), the judiciary and the executive (through the General Inspectorate of Federal and Local Police). 47. Belarus stated that it had positively assessed the broad scale of obligations undertaken by Belgium under international human rights treaties. Belarus, however, noted the low level of cooperation between the special procedures and Belgium, especially in answering to their questionnaires. Belgium had answered only five out of 26 questionnaires. Belarus made recommendations. GE.11-14583 7