A/HRC/16/3 8. Chapter III of the Constitution of Liberia, inter alia, provided for the promotion and protection of fundamental rights, which it enumerated. It further stated that the Government was divided into three branches, the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial, and it described the functioning of each. The first female President on the continent of Africa, Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, had been elected to lead the Republic of Liberia in 2005, and six female Cabinet Ministers held leading portfolios. This was a clear indication of the country’s commitment to gender equality and the ability of the populace to value qualifications more than gender perceptions. 9. With regard to the establishment of the Independent National Human Rights Commission, the delegation stated that in August 2010, the President had nominated seven Commissioners from a shortlist of 14 provided by the Committee of Experts. In September 2010, all seven Commissioners – three women and four men – had been confirmed by the Senate, and on 28 October 2010 they had been formally inducted into office by the President. 10. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission had been established in May 2005 to investigate human rights violations committed during the civil conflict. The final report of the Commission, which contained a historical analysis identifying the root causes of the conflict in Liberia as well as 142 recommendations intended to redress human rights violations, had been published on 30 June 2009. A month ago, the President had expanded the task force established to review the legal and constitutional implications of the Commission’s recommendations, in order to include the Liberian National Bar Association. 11. Liberia had signed or ratified/acceded to numerous regional and international human rights instruments as well as a number of International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions. Since 2005, a number of those international instruments had been integrated into domestic law through legislation. Liberia was considering adopting the Children’s Rights Law and the New Prison Reform Act and becoming a signatory to the Hague Convention pertaining to inter-country adoption. 12. The delegation presented some of Liberia’s achievements in the area of civil and political rights. On the right to liberty and security of persons, Liberia had strengthened the Professional Standard Division within the Liberian National Police, had incorporated human rights education into the training of law enforcement officers and military and prison personnel, and had undertaken a vetting process in the security sector to exclude past human rights abusers from public positions. It had also created human rights units in the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender and Development. 13. On the issue of justice and legal reform, the delegation stated that Liberia understood that its citizens could face problems in gaining access to justice because citizens were unaware of their rights and because justice institutions were remote, slow and unaffordable or biased and discriminatory. The delegation described the initiatives taken in that regard. 14. For the past couple of years, Liberia had struggled to address the persistent problem of pre-trial detention. In that regard, the country had highlighted the following achievements: establishing the “Magistrate Sitting Programme” and the Task Force on PreTrial Detention, taking a measure to implement existing Liberian laws on alternatives to incarceration, and establishing the Police-Prosecution Coordination Sub-Committee. 15. Moreover, in order to redress poor prison and detention centre conditions throughout the country, Liberia had taken a number of measures, including the allocation of additional financial resources for the renovation and improvement of detention centres and the initiation of literacy and vocational programmes and psycho-social counselling for detainees. 4