A/HRC/43/9 and economic benefits in the event of illness of workers, family allowances, pharmaceutical assistance, social and health care, pensions for the elderly and lifelong benefits. Likewise, since 1963, public education had been a non-waivable and free right for all, from the age of 6 to 16. There had been no cases of children not receiving or completing compulsory education until the age of 16. 21. Where the country had been unable to recognize and promote certain rights autonomously, bodies such as the Human Rights Council, and more specifically the universal periodic review, had motivated its parliament and its institutions to fill the gaps. Successful examples of the effectiveness of that mechanism were the numerous ratifications of international instruments following the recommendations of several countries, and the adoption of the law prohibiting corporal punishment of children. 22. San Marino was well aware of the value of dialogue and of the contribution of the current review process. It was confident that the current review would enable it to make necessary and important steps forward, strengthening the close connection between the process and the country’s democratic development. 23. During the second review, held in October 2014, San Marino had received 74 recommendations, of which it had accepted 55. It had not accepted 19. 24. Over the past five years, the relevant ministries had examined all the recommendations from the second cycle, many of which had already been implemented. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had coordinated the implementation of the recommendations, calling for their adoption on a regular basis and assessing their implementation. Over the past year, it had carried out the preparatory work for the third national report, with the support of all the other ministries and numerous public administration offices. 25. Responding to the advance questions submitted by Angola and Portugal, the delegation noted that to date, the size and characteristics of the public administration had not made it necessary to establish an ad hoc mechanism for the implementation of the recommendations of the universal periodic review or of other bodies. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had coordinated follow-up to the recommendations, working in collaboration with the other ministries and offices. However, the country remained open to suggestions in that regard. 26. The third review of San Marino had been announced in the press and to associations operating in the country, providing information on how to contribute to the review. The delegation thanked those who had contributed with suggestions and proposals for the improvement of the system for the protection of human rights in the country, which had been included in the national report. Once finalized, the national report had been submitted by the Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Parliamentary Commission for Foreign Affairs in August 2019. 27. The report contained information on the implementation of the recommendations accepted at the second review cycle and on developments in the field of human rights over the past five years. Since October 2014, San Marino had acceded to or ratified a large number of international instruments, both in the field of human rights and in other areas. 28. Following up on some of the recommendations accepted during the second review cycle, San Marino had acceded to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure and to the amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on the crime of aggression. Furthermore, it was currently in the process of ratifying the Convention against Discrimination in Education of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court. Those two international instruments had already been submitted to the Parliamentary Commission for Foreign Affairs for examination and would be submitted to the parliament in 2020 for the final act of the ratification process. 29. In addition, in the regional context, San Marino had ratified the following Council of Europe instruments: Protocol No. 16 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights 4