A/HRC/18/7 38. The delegation underlined that Seychelles was party to the eight core international conventions on human rights and that the State had ratified all fundamental ILO conventions. It had adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995 and the Dakar Framework for Action: Education for All: Meeting Our Collective Commitments in 2000. At the regional level, Seychelles was party to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa thereto, and the SADC Gender and Development Protocol. Seychelles was committed to the 2004 African Union Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa. 39. While international human rights instruments were not automatically integrated into domestic law, article 48 of the Constitution provided that a court shall take judicial notice of the international instruments containing the human rights obligations of Seychelles. 40. The delegation noted that the fulfilment of reporting obligations to treaty bodies is a human-resource intensive and thus challenging exercise considering the limited resources and capacities of Seychelles. The initial report under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) would be submitted in a few months’ time, followed the next year by the report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and a strategy on reporting obligations was being finalized. 41. On achievements, the delegation highlighted the opening of the first university in November 2010 and noted that education was free from early childhood to post-secondary level and scholarships were provided on a competitive points-based system for tertiary education. 42. The delegation noted that primary health care was free and that antiretroviral treatment was delivered free of charge to Seychellois patients. 43. Seychelles noted that its security policy against piracy conformed to international human rights standards and practices. The Coast Guard and People’s Defence Force were trained on humanitarian laws and large numbers of police and law enforcement officers received human-rights trainings in 2009. In 2010 Seychelles ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Human rights were included in the teacher-training programme and in the personal and social education curriculum at secondary level and would be included in the primary curriculum. Creole versions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were prepared. 44. The President of Seychelles undertook consultative meetings in all districts in 2005 and 2009 to provide a forum for residents to share concerns and ideas. Since 2010, the district administrations had organized annual meetings with residents to hear feedback on projects implemented and to receive complaints and suggestions. 45. A key challenge for Seychelles was the implementation of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to bridge the gap between formulation and implementation. 46. Seychelles noted that climate change had direct and indirect effects on the right to development and human rights. The Government was concerned by the lack of progress in international negotiations on climate change. The President continued to reiterate the right of small island States to exist as nations and called the nations that sought to maintain their economic prosperity above other considerations to consider the human rights implications of such decisions. 47. The delegation stated that strengthening the National Human Rights Commission was a priority and that more resources were required for its efficient functioning and to bring it into line with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles), to seek accreditation with the 7