A/HRC/21/8 46. Regarding the ratification of other international treaties, the delegation said that the draft bill on the OP-CRC on the sale of children had been approved by the Parliament and ratification should take place in June 2012. As for the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the delegation assured that ensuring economic, social and cultural rights was the Government’s priority and that a draft bill had been prepared for submission to Parliament in this respect. The ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (CAT) has also been in the process and a Government bill was currently being drafted for submission to Parliament in autumn 2012, with the Parliamentary Ombudsman proposed as the required national mechanism. The Government of Finland had considered several times the ratification of the International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW) but had concluded that it was not expedient to ratify the Convention, as no distinction was made between migrant workers and other immigrants in Finnish legislation and they therefore enjoyed the same rights. Moreover, the status of migrant workers was not only affected by social security law, but also by social security agreements concluded by Finland and European Union social security legislation. 47. With regard to combating bullying and discrimination in schools, the delegation said that Finland had launched an anti-bullying programme with the participation of over 90 per cent of schools. An evaluation of the programme indicated that it had significantly reduced bullying and victimization, including verbal, physical and cyber bullying, with 98 per cent of victims reporting that their situation had improved. Furthermore, a positive effect on academic achievement and motivation levels had been recorded. The programme had won the European Crime Prevention Award in 2009. 48. Turning to sexual crimes and rape, in 2011 the revised Criminal Code came into force with widening the scope rape. 49. In response to enquiries about Finland’s first Human Rights National Action Plan, the delegation said that it had been prepared through an open dialogue with civil society, the Ombudsman and other stakeholders. The main priority had been to ensure efficient follow-up and implementation of its commitments. 50. As for questions relating to minority groups, trafficking in persons and the detention of foreigners, the delegation said that revised legislation on trafficking in persons was under preparation, including provisions for a national assistance system for victims of trafficking, identifying victims and exchange of information between the authorities and other actors. Furthermore, the Finnish police, border guards and immigration service personnel received regular training on how to combat human trafficking. 51. The detention of unaccompanied minor asylum seekers will be prohibited and alternatives to detention should take precedence. The interministerial working group had recently published its first draft on child detention, which proposed the prohibition of the detention of unaccompanied children and that the detention of other children should be more closely regulated. Children detained with their families under the Aliens Act would only be placed in administrative detention units, for as short a duration as possible and only as a last resort. Concerning the question raised on comprehensive statistical data on detained foreign nationals, the delegation acknowledged that there was a lack of sufficient information, but efforts were being made to remedy the situation. 52. With regard to children placed in social institutions, measures to reduce the number of children taken into care would be strengthened, with the emphasis shifting to prevention and early support services. Recently, for the first time family care had overtaken institutional care as the primary form of substitute care. Children with significant problems, however, continued to be taken into care. There were plans to intensify the supervision of institutions by national and regional authorities. 9