A/HRC/18/12 47. Argentina welcomed significant progress achieved in the prevention and treatment of HIV in pregnant women. Additionally, it welcomed achievements in the last 10 years in reducing deaths from malaria. Argentina also welcomed the information that Suriname had decided to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. It asked about progress made through measures adopted to investigate human rights violations during the military regime. Argentina made recommendations. 48. Australia welcomed the establishment of the National Commission for the Eradication of Child Labour in 2009 and encouraged Suriname to take steps to ensure that the Commission could effectively carry out its mandate. It welcomed action in 2010 to allow prisoners to submit their complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and encouraged the authorities to act on such complaints. Australia, nevertheless, expressed concern at reportedly declining prison conditions in the country. Australia made recommendations. 49. The Netherlands commended Suriname on the candour of its national report and appreciated answers provided to questions. It noted several initiatives to promote gender equality, such as, the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the criminalization of marital rape and certain research projects described in its report. It acknowledged significant changes in the justice system in the past few years. It also noted that the national report did not address the position of LGBT persons. It made recommendations. 50. Germany requested information on how Suriname had followed up to the Human Rights Committee’s recommendation to reduce the number of persons in detention and to improve prison conditions, on the country’s policy towards national minorities (i.e., the Amerindians and the Maroons) and the implementation of the 2007 decision of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights on collective landownership, how Suriname had followed up to the Committee on the Rights of the Child’s recommendation to adopt the revised Penal Code which raised the age of criminal responsibility. Germany made a recommendation. 51. China thanked Suriname for its report and noted with appreciation that the Government had, by improving its legal system, strengthened national institutions which sought to promote and protect human rights. It also noted efforts made to promote gender equality and the situation of its vulnerable groups. China expressed understanding of the challenges faced by Suriname with regard to education and health because of its development level and called on the international community to provide it with constructive assistance to help it attain the Millennium Development Goals. 52. Spain acknowledged Suriname’s efforts in the promotion and protection of human rights and referred, in that regard, to the establishment of the Human Rights Bureau within the Ministry of Justice and Police and the Women and Child Policy Bureau. Spain also welcomed the Surinamese co-sponsorship to the joint statement to stop violence and related human rights violations against people, based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, during the sixteenth session of the Human Rights Council. Spain made recommendations. 53. Chile noted that the Surinamese national report acknowledged that the implementation of treaty bodies’ recommendations and the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights represented one of the main challenges to its human rights policy. It therefore considered that cooperation with the multilateral protection system requires technical assistance of the United Nations. Chile congratulated Suriname for its achievements in the prevention of the transmittal of HIV from mother to child. It asked for 9