A/HRC/13/3 54. Uruguay emphasized the efforts made by the Dominican Republic in the promotion and protection of human rights, including the affirmative actions adopted to ensure women’s participation in public life and the implementation of programmes such as “Eating Comes First” and the Solidarity Programme. Uruguay recognized that geographic, political and socioeconomic factors make the development of a migration policy a complex process and indicated that the Dominican Republic should continue strengthening measures aimed at protecting the principles of non-discrimination and the right to an identity, among others. It enquired about the experiences of the Dominican Republic in its efforts to combat child labour. Uruguay made recommendations. 55. Slovenia commended the State for its efforts to comply with its international obligations. Slovenia questioned the State on its concrete plan to eliminate the discriminatory provisions present in the Civil Code. It raised concerns about the existing prohibition of abortion and wondered if measures were foreseen against the development of a black market in illegal abortions. Slovenia asked what was planned to prevent child labour and violence against children and to remedy under-resourced education. Slovenia made recommendations. 56. Nicaragua highlighted the efforts and progress made by the Dominican Republic in modernizing its state, giving it an institutional and normative framework which meets the needs of its society. Nicaragua congratulated the Dominican Republic for the process of constitutional reform, which was consolidating Dominican democracy. Nicaragua made recommendations. 57. Italy commended the growing awareness in terms of the promotion and protection of human rights and the adoption of new legislation over the last few years. Italy formulated four recommendations: to include in the school system appropriate measures in the field of human rights education; to increase the efforts to combat existing discrimination among children; to ratify and implement CAT and to ensure satisfactory prosecution of cases of gender-based violence. Italy made recommendations. 58. Norway recalled the importance of independent national human rights institutions for the awareness and implementation of human rights obligations. Norway raised concerns about the vulnerable situation of human rights defenders and journalists working in the defence of human rights, including rights of Haitian immigrants and Dominicans of Haitian origin. Norway was deeply concerned by the rate of women’s deaths caused by genderbased violence. Norway made recommendations. 59. Germany referred to Human Rights Committee concerns about reports of extrajudicial executions of prisoners in State custody and of deaths at the hands of the National Police, the armed forces and officers of the National Drug Control Office owing to the excessive use of force. Germany was interested to know how the Government had addressed these concerns and in particular to learn more about programmes of human rights training for the staff of those forces in this regard. Germany made recommendations. 60. The Holy See noted the ongoing process of consolidation of democratic institutions, including the establishment of local prosecutor’s offices to safeguard especially the rights of women and minors, and the application of a zero tolerance policy in cases of mistreatment or violation of the rights of illegal migrants. While appreciating the care of the State to protect children, the Holy See remained concerned that many under the age of five were without birth certificates. The Holy See drew attention to the trafficking and exploitation of persons, especially children, and wondered what measures had been taken to confront the problem. The Holy See made recommendations. 61. In response to comments made on the situation of women, the delegation of the Dominican Republic indicated that it fully shared the concerns conveyed by various delegations. In 2000, the Government created a Ministry for Women that is working on the 10