A/HRC/22/5 92. The delegation pointed out that the gender approach had not been discounted; for example, there were four women generals in the security and defence forces. Efforts were being made to achieve gender equality and prevent gender discrimination. Gabon had set up the Observatory for Women’s Rights and Parity to protect the rights of women, families and children. Since 25 January 2010, Gabon had been working to enhance women’s skills and strengthen organizations led by women. Training on microcredit had been provided for several women running associations and groups. The President of the Republic had recently asked the Government to establish mechanisms to systematically use performance-based assessments of Gabonese managers, especially women managers. 93. The delegation said that civil society played a dynamic, influential and proactive role in Gabon. Civil society sometimes overstepped the mark and got involved in politics, but it also served as a barometer and stimulus. The Government spokesperson said she was attentive to civil society and the Government took notice when it sounded the alarm. 94. The press was free in Gabon, where freedom was supported, not stifled. Insults and incitement to ethnic hatred were not human rights. Gabon was a haven of peace, and recognized as such in the international arena and in the subregion. It had not experienced war; peace was a precious gift that the President of the Republic had inherited from his predecessors and wished to perpetuate. Using journalists to incite ethnic hatred, insults and war was beyond the pale, and the press was not censored in Gabon except in such cases. The delegation noted that Gabon had recently revised its Media Code, which decriminalized press offences. 95. Gabon had signed the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families in December 2004, and its ratification was the subject of a nationwide debate. Gabon’s legal framework guaranteed the fundamental rights of all migrant workers and members of their families. Indeed, Gabon welcomed people from Africa and from across the world. It was an essentially hospitable country. The Government was particularly attentive to the outcomes of national and regional discussions on the free movement of persons and goods within the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). The rights of entry to and residence in Gabon, the right to exercise an occupation and the rights to family reunification, access to the courts, health care, education and housing were all guaranteed to migrant workers. 96. The delegation said that indigenous peoples represented 1 per cent of the Gabonese population. Under the Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Gabon was committed to protecting indigenous peoples, who were a source of cultural and intellectual riches. Gabon was doing all it could to promote the integration of the Pygmies. 97. As far as education was concerned, the delegation pointed out that Gabon had adopted the action plan of the World Programme for Human Rights Education, which focused on national school systems. In Gabon, education was open to all children without distinction and was compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16. The figures for the various education levels in 2010 were: (i) Preschool: there was capacity for 11,230 pupils in 445 classrooms; following the recommendations received in 2008, the Government had launched a project to build and equip a further 1,500 classrooms and 14 preschools; (ii) Primary: there were 1,447 schools; (iii) Secondary: there was capacity for 148,556 students in 128 schools; the Government had recently launched a project to build eight junior and five senior high schools; (iv) Higher education: there was capacity for 20,803 students, in three large State universities comprising three faculties, and in three grandes écoles (university-level institutions with competitive entrance examinations) and four institutes. The Government had also launched a project to increase capacity in the three universities and two of the grandes écoles. GE.12-18722 13