A/HRC/19/7 8. It was explained that, in an effort to stimulate public awareness and stem problems related to stigma and discrimination of those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in the workplace, the Government had adopted a National Workplace Policy on HIV/AIDS and established an Advocacy and Sustainability Centre for its implementation. Additionally, the Equal Opportunity Amendment Bill, 2011, had been drafted to include among the various classifications of discrimination “HIV/AIDS” and “age” as categories under which protection should exist. 9. Trinidad and Tobago explained that, in a small society with very conservative values and deep religious traditions, effecting change to personal attitudes and community values was no easy task. This notwithstanding, it was noteworthy that, in recent debates on the Statutory Authorities (Amendment) Bill, the need to have definitive deliberations to resolve issues related to the treatment of same sex couples was raised in the Parliament. 10. Trinidad and Tobago stated that the Government had made the reduction of violent crime a top priority. It had therefore taken drastic steps with the enactment of various pieces of legislation such as the Anti-Gang Act, 2011 and the Trafficking in Persons Act, 2011. 11. It was added in that regard that, on 21 August 2011, Prime Minister PersadBissessar had announced that the Government had agreed to impose a State of Emergency to deal with escalating crime. In explaining the Government’s rationale for the state of emergency, the Prime Minister linked the recent surge in violent criminal activity to the success of the police in the seizure of large drug hauls and described the current situation in Trinidad and Tobago with the imposition of the State of Emergency as “a war on crime”. The duration of the state of emergency was initially declared for 15 days, but was subsequently extended for three months. 12. Trinidad and Tobago noted that it was mindful of the potential for the state of emergency to impact on the civil liberties of the citizenry and had therefore put in place mechanisms to minimize intrusions, including the requirement that security forces avoid abuse to the population. It was added that the Government had repeatedly stated in public that it had no intention of curtailing the constitutional freedoms and rights of the people of Trinidad and Tobago for a minute longer than was adjudged to be absolutely necessary. 13. Trinidad and Tobago indicated further that the Government had also established the Financial Intelligence Unit to focus specifically on transnational crime and had moved swiftly to make the country compliant with international standards through the enactment of the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Act, 2010, and the Interception of Communication Act, 2010, which criminalized the financing of terrorist activities. 14. Moreover, the Government had taken steps to protect its citizens from technology related crimes through the passage of the following laws: the Computer Misuse Act, 2000, the Electronic Transfer of Funds Crime Act, 2000 and the Data Protection Act, 2011, to afford protection to electronically stored personal data. 15. It was highlighted that the Government was vigorously addressing the bottlenecks that existed in the judicial system particularly in relation to pretrial detention. The Ministry of Justice is in the process of reviewing the Indictable Offences (Preliminary Enquiry) Act, 1917, with the goal, in principle, that once charged, accused persons should be brought before the Courts in one year. 16. Trinidad and Tobago noted that the Government had created a mechanism allowing members of the public to lodge complaints against police officers and to curb the use of unnecessary force by the police service. Additionally, the Police Service had recently implemented the “Policing for People Initiative” to provide officers with the training required to improve the overall quality of policing. It had also been the practice in recent 4