A/HRC/17/11 cooperation programme with civil society and other countries. Philippines made recommendations. 80. The Holy See, while noting that the Constitution recognized freedom of expression, opinion, conscience, confession and faith, and that this constitutional principle was safeguarded in the Criminal Code, raised concerns regarding the status of religious minorities, which remained without legal personality and civil recognition. Holy See made recommendations. 81. Argentina referred to measures to reduce gender discrimination. It asked about measures to eliminate discriminatory practices on the basis of gender, race and religion. It also asked about actions to encourage an increase in the participation of women in the political sphere. Argentina made recommendations. 82. Netherlands expressed concern about reports of ill-treatment of detainees and excessive use of force by police. Netherlands was also concerned by the comments made by the Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights of internally displaced persons on the way in which evictions of collective centres had been carried out. Netherlands made recommendations. 83. The delegation noted the commitment undertaken in 1999 to return the persons forcefully displaced in the 1940s by the Soviet Regime. In 2007, the Law on the Repatriation of the Forcefully Displaced Persons was adopted; in 2008 relevant applicationrelated procedures were developed. The deadline for submitting the applications for receiving the status of repatriates was prolonged twice providing two years for submitting applications. More than 5,800 applications had been submitted and Georgia was now in the process of reviewing them, after which a four-month period would be given to correcting flaws. The first persons would receive the status of repatriates by the end of 2011. Measures were undertaken by the Government in cooperation with the international community to ensure their integration and raise awareness. 84. The delegation underscored that the Steering Committee – that included donors, NGOs and experts – had overseen the resettlement process of IDPs. More than 3,000 IDP families received durable housing solutions. Standard operating procedures for vacation and reallocation of IDPs were elaborated in cooperation with relevant stakeholders and international organizations. Temporary shelters were vacated in full compliance with the procedures. The resettled IDPs received temporary houses before the resettlement or were offered alternative housing. After the resettlement, IDPs received firewood, food, non-food items and other assistance. 85. The Government, together with international and local partners, supported socioeconomic and other livelihood activities for IDPs. The rural population of IDPs affected by the 2008 war received 860 hectares of agricultural land and assistance for cultivation. Irrigation systems were improved. The regions with higher employment opportunities were identified for further resettlement of IDPs, where the process of creation of living spaces had started. The delegation stated that the best solution for the IDPs would be to return to their places of permanent residence in safety and dignity, which was, unfortunately, not possible at this stage. 86. In response to the alleged unequal treatment of ethnic minorities, including Ossetians, the delegation responded that no evidence of such practice existed. At least twice as many Ossetians resided on the territory of Georgia outside of the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia than within the occupied region itself. The delegation cited the 2009 OSCE report on the situation of Ossetians in Georgia outside the former Autonomous District of South Ossetia, stating that “Inter-ethnic relations between Georgians and Ossetians … do not give reason for concern” and that “the OSCE is not aware of any recent 11