A/HRC/17/3 16. There was still considerable concern relating to the standard of living of Nauruans, particularly issues such as unemployment, inadequate income, housing and access to clean drinking water and fresh food. The Government was endeavouring to address these issues through community-based programmes. 17. Education was compulsory and free but Nauru was very concerned about the reportedly high rates of truancy and the Department for Education had implemented policies to address this issue. While, because of the financial crisis, older children were being taken out of school to care for younger siblings, Nauru was hopeful that, as the economic situation improved, families would ensure that their children stay in school for as long as possible. 18. An Education Bill was scheduled to be tabled at the next Parliament’s session, which notably proposed to make education compulsory until the age of 18, increase the hours of school and pursue many other positive changes under the principle of providing decent education to children and young people. 19. Nauru stated that specific groups, such as senior citizens and persons with disabilities, now received financial assistance. 20. Nauru noted the international concern about its failure to ratify many international human rights treaties. Nauru had signed most of them and many of the legislative obligations already found expression in existing laws. However, it was the burden of reporting that most concerned Nauru. Therefore, Nauru urged the United Nations to seriously review the reporting obligations and would like to contribute to the current review. It would notably suggest that some of the reporting obligations be undertaken on a regional basis, rather than in Geneva owing to the costs involved. 21. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had recently established an interministerial Working Group on Treaties tasked to review Nauru’s existing international obligations and to recommend action as regards ratification of treaties to which Nauru was not yet a party. The Working Group would be looking at the recommendations from the UPR Working Group, and it was likely that the treaties mentioned will be given individual consideration in 2011. 22. Nauru informed the Council about inaccuracies in the United Nations records on the various international human rights instruments that Nauru had signed in 2000. 23. Due to its recent history with hosting migrant processing centres, the signature of Refugees Convention was presently under active consideration by the Cabinet. Nauru was also prepared to consider agreeing to the visit request from the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and would be prepared to consider extending a standing invitation to the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. 24. Nauru stated that the impacts of climate change included a notable sea-level rise, which posed an immediate and serious threat to food security, human health and could cause displacement. The vast majority of the island’s population lived on the coast, which was on average 3 to 4 metres above sea level. Unfortunately there was little that Nauru could do to halt the global emission of greenhouse gases, and it called on major emitters to recognize its right to survival and to make significant cuts as a matter of urgency. Nauru was committed to enacting environmental rights as human rights. 25. The mining of phosphate over the last century had caused significant environmental damage on Nauru, which was endeavouring to do what it could through the Nauru Rehabilitation Corporation. In January 2010, the Government collaborated with the Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission on a survey on the impact of the mining industry on the communities close to the processing plant. Nauru hoped that, when available, the results from the survey would guide it in its efforts to improve the quality of life for these 5