A/HRC/16/14 investigate the police/military operations, including the circumstances surrounding the civilian deaths. It emphasized that the high level of crime and violence remained a major concern and that the murder rate remained high, but was trending downward. 30. Jamaica noted that the transnational nature of organized crime required cross-border collaboration at the bilateral, regional and international levels. Jamaica stressed the various anti-crime initiatives it had undertaken over the years and mentioned a number of specific examples. 31. Regarding the issue of sexual orientation, Jamaica stressed that, although consensual sex between adult males remained proscribed by law, there was no legal discrimination against persons on the grounds of their sexual orientation. Jamaica pointed out that Jamaican law did not criminalize lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender orientation, nor did the Government condone discrimination or violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. It added that there had been no credible cases of arbitrary detention and/or harassment of such persons by the police, nor was there any such official policy. Likewise, there was no evidence of any mob-related killing of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender persons. 32. Jamaica stressed that the issue of male homosexuality was one of great sensitivity in Jamaican society, in which cultural norms, values, religious and moral standards underlay a rejection of male homosexual behaviour by a large majority of Jamaicans; and that the Government was committed to ensuring that all citizens were protected from violence. 33. Jamaica indicated its major success in addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic, with the support of the Global Fund. Access to anti-retroviral drugs had been significantly increased and had reversed the rate of HIV/AIDS infection. It noted, however, that the reclassification as an upper-middle-income country had rendered the country ineligible for further assistance from the Fund and that it did not have the resources to fill that gap. Jamaica was therefore at the forefront in calling for recognition of a special category of countries known as highly indebted middle-income countries. It also noted that there could be no discrimination in respect of access to drugs if the spread of AIDS was to be halted. 34. Jamaica recognized room for improvement regarding discrimination and stigma linked to HIV/AIDS and provided details regarding initiatives adopted in that regard. It noted that the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP), established by CARICOM Heads in 2001, had played a key role in scaling up responses to HIV/AIDS in the region. 35. Regarding corporal punishment, Jamaica stated that it was forbidden in the education system and in State child-care facilities. With the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Ministry of Education had begun an anti-corporal-punishment education campaign, which was also aimed at the domestic level. 36. Jamaica stated that it continued to retain the death penalty. In so doing, it honoured the sentencing principle of proportionality, reserving that penalty for the most egregious types of murder; moreover, it was discretionarily imposed after a sentencing hearing. It stressed that the retention of the death penalty was not contrary to international law or inconsistent with the right to life. 37. Jamaica agreed that that there had been a de facto moratorium on the use of the death penalty since 1988, but clarified that there was no demand for its abolition, but rather for retention. It stated that it was therefore highly unlikely that Jamaica would change its stance and vote in favour of the General Assembly resolution on a moratorium on the death penalty or move to an abstention. 6