A/HRC/33/8 122. Portugal expressed concern about the human rights situation and noted the cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, ill-treatment of human rights defenders and that the death penalty was used for crimes not considered serious under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 123. The Republic of Korea stated that national integrity and long-term stability could only be achieved through reconciliation and confidence-building and that sexual violence in conflict areas must be investigated. 124. Saudi Arabia noted the political and economic challenges and commended the efforts to combat human trafficking by creating the National Committee and adopting the law on human trafficking and the development of plans and programmes to provide adequate food. 125. Senegal welcomed the ongoing efforts to fulfil the commitments relating to the review and the positive reforms in the areas of health care, education, women’s rights and vulnerable groups. It invited the international community to provide support for the adoption of a new Constitution. 126. Sierra Leone encouraged further efforts to eliminate violence against women and ensure the protection of human rights defenders. It expressed concern about the internal armed conflict. 127. Slovakia noted that many of the recommendations from the first review have not been implemented. It expressed concern that the interim Constitution and national framework did not fully recognize civil and political rights and about restrictions on human rights defenders. 128. Slovenia noted that civil society representatives were prevented from attending the present review. It expressed concern about human rights abuses by all parties to the conflict and the denial of humanitarian access for the civil population. 129. South Africa welcomed the legislative developments, the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission and the Salima campaign to prevent female genital mutilation. 130. Guatemala was concerned about violence against women and reports on the lack of investigation of related crimes. 131. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela noted the effect of the unilateral coercive measures on the standard of living and the achievements regarding the right to education, including measures to improve access in remote areas. 132. Viet Nam noted the adoption of the new Constitution, several new laws and the National Action Plan on Human Rights. 133. Mauritania acknowledged the adoption of several laws, including the Human Trafficking Act, the Asylum Act and the Freedom of Information Act. It valued the pledge to pursue and reinforce human rights cooperation and communications with all national, regional and international partners. 134. Qatar noted the measures to implement the recommendations of the review and commended the efforts to achieve peace and stability in all parts of the Sudan by adopting the National Dialogue approach as a basis for achieving political consensus. 135. The delegation underlined that the Sudan was not a party to the International Criminal Court and was not bound by its decisions; whereas, it was bound by African Union resolutions in that respect. 12 GE.16-11829