A/HRC/36/9 122. Finland encouraged the Government to continue working to prevent the growth of intolerance and xenophobia in society and to report on the implementation of the relevant action plan. 123. France welcomed the efforts of the United Kingdom to continuously improve the internal human rights situation. 124. Gabon welcomed the law against violence against women and girls and the establishment of the crimes of forced marriage and non-protection against female genital mutilation. 125. Morocco appreciated the efforts to fight discrimination, in consultation with civil society, the strengthening of laws on racial equality, and measures to combat hate speech and hate crime. 126. Regarding equality and social rights, the delegation stated that the Government of the United Kingdom remained committed to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women. From March 2017, the Government had extended the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to additional British Overseas Territories. The gender pay gap was at its lowest level ever and the measures taken included gender pay gap reporting. 127. Tackling child poverty was a priority for the Government, and it recognized that the root causes were not just financial and that it was necessary to go beyond the safety net provided by welfare. The delegation referred to the Child Poverty Strategy in Northern Ireland, the Fairer Scotland Action Plan and the 2010 Children and Families (Wales) Measure, which would help to tackle child poverty. 128. The delegation referred to announced resources for a package of measures to protect children and young people from sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking, and to crack down on offenders. Measures taken in the devolved administrations were also mentioned. 129. The delegation noted that the United Kingdom had strengthened the powers and level of independence of the Children’s Commissioner, making it more accountable to the United Kingdom Parliament and children. 130. Regarding Roma, Gypsies and Travellers, the delegation referred to the existence of established frameworks against racial and other forms of discrimination and hate crime, and pointed to increased resources for housing. 131. On business and human rights, concrete measures had been taken, including through the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the Companies Act 2006 and guidance to specific sectors. The Government had also funded business and human rights projects in other countries. It continued to encourage wide adoption of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 132. The United Kingdom had always been a proud and proactive member of the United Nations. The delegation stated that the country was a confident, strong and dependable partner internationally, committed to maintaining its strong global role in relation to human rights and to complying with its international human rights obligations, which included its active participation in and advocacy of the universal periodic review. 133. The United Kingdom had engaged in the universal periodic review session in a spirit of openness and had listened with interest to the viewpoints and perspectives that had been expressed. It was clear that some of the following themes were of real importance to the Human Rights Council: ensuring the ongoing protection of equality and human rights as the United Kingdom left the European Union; a desire for the Government to focus on strengthening its approach to international treaties; a keen interest in the impact of changes to welfare benefits, particularly in relation to vulnerable people, and also access to justice changes, including legal aid and employment tribunal fees; a desire to see continued monitoring of those changes and also for Government to look at the cumulative impact of such reforms; the continued importance of tackling modern slavery and human trafficking, improving safety in prisons, and issues around immigration detention; and the importance of counter-terrorism measures being human rights-compliant. 10