A/HRC/39/4 strengthened its subregional and international cooperation in the fight against terrorism. In that respect, it was participating actively in the Group of Five for the Sahel (Sahel G-5). Its cooperation with neighbouring countries had also been bolstered with the aim of joining forces in the fight against terrorism. The Government ensured that all measures taken to counter threats were in line with its international human rights commitments. 21. Furthermore, to build the resilience of the population, an emergency programme for the Sahel region for 2017–2020 had been launched in 2017 to increase access to basic social services. 22. The atmosphere of insecurity, exacerbated by the lack of State resources, had favoured the development of local security initiatives in some regions of the country. The serious violations of fundamental rights and freedoms and of the principles of the rule of law committed by the people behind those initiatives were, however, regrettable, even though their actions had often been applauded by the population. To meet that challenge, a decree defining the modalities for public participation in the implementation of neighbourhood police forces had been adopted in November 2016. In addition, training and awareness-raising activities were carried out to induce those forces to incorporate respect for human rights in their work and improve their collaboration with defence and security forces. Legal proceedings had been instituted against persons suspected of ill-treatment. From 2015 to 30 April 2018, national courts had prosecuted 151 individuals, of whom 52 had been sentenced to fines and/or imprisonment for various offences. 23. Lastly, Burkina Faso was firmly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and counted on the assistance of its partners and the support of the international community. B. Interactive dialogue and responses by the State under review 24. During the interactive dialogue, 87 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report. 25. Belgium welcomed the abolition of the death penalty for children and the efforts made to improve the status of women and children. It remained concerned about violence against them and the extremely high rate of child marriage. 26. Benin congratulated Burkina Faso for the various initiatives taken to improve the human rights situation and for agreeing to implement its recommendations following its previous review. 27. Botswana welcomed the ratification by Burkina Faso of treaties, including the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the National Action Plan for Human Rights and the Promotion of Civic Values for the period 2012–2022, the Action Plan to Implement the National Gender Policy and the 2015 National Pact for Justice Reform. 28. Brazil commended Burkina Faso for its adoption of the National Action Plan for Human Rights and the enhancement of other normative and institutional frameworks for the promotion and protection of human rights. 29. Bulgaria noted with appreciation the developments in the normative and institutional framework and praised Burkina Faso for the implementation of the 2015 Act on prevention and punishment in respect of violence against women and girls. 30. Burundi welcomed the legislative and institutional measures adopted by Burkina Faso since its previous review as an expression of the determination of the Government to implement the accepted recommendations and improve the human rights situation. 31. Cabo Verde welcomed the legislative and institutional measures that Burkina Faso had taken over the previous five years, including the act on compulsory universal health insurance and the law on the prevention and suppression of violence against women and girls. 4 GE.18-11224