A/HRC/25/16 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007, held its seventeenth session from 21 October to 1 November 2013. The review of the Congo was held at the 15th meeting on 30 October 2013. The delegation of Congo was headed by Mr. Bienvenu Okiemy, Minister of Communication and Relations with Parliament. At its 19th meeting held on 1 November 2013, the Working Group adopted the report on the Congo. 2. On 14 January 2013, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of the Congo: Austria, Ethiopia and Indonesia. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to resolution 16/21, the following documents were issued for the review of Congo: (a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/17/COG/1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/17/COG/2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/17/COG/3). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by the Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was transmitted to the Congo through the troika. These questions are available on the extranet of the universal periodic review (UPR). I. Summary of the proceedings of the review process A. Presentation by the State under review 5. The Minister of Communication and Relations with Parliament began his speech by expressing his commitment to universally shared human rights values. He said that the delegation had come to present to the Working Group the national report of the Congo on the implementation of the recommendations resulting from the first universal periodic review held in 2009, prepared on the basis of an inclusive process involving the Government, through an interministerial commission, as well as civil society. 6. He said that the Congo had accepted 51 recommendations during its first universal periodic review. Much attention had been accorded to their implementation but some goals had yet to be achieved. 7. He said that the second universal periodic review was taking place in a political context of greater peace and security and institutional stability that helped to strengthen participatory democracy and the rule of law. He continued by noting that, in economic terms, the country had recorded significant results which helped to improve people’s living conditions and poverty reduction. From the political and social standpoint, the Government was committed to making the Congo a place where people lived in harmony and were building a future together, without discrimination based on origin, social status or ethnicity, in compliance with the fundamental freedoms and rights of every person. GE.14-10049 3