A/HRC/31/15 34. Egypt noted the role played by the national inter-agency coordination mechanism. It regretted that the criminal code did not prohibit racist discourse, the dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or expressions of racial hatred. 35. Estonia supported the territorial integrity of Georgia and stood for free access by Georgian and international institutions to observe the human rights situation in the occupied territories. It commended Georgia for cooperating with the International Criminal Court. 36. France welcomed the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities and the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). France asked whether Georgia planned to strengthen the Public Defender’s Office and allocate additional resources to implement the anti-discrimination law. 37. Germany welcomed the improvement of the situation regarding freedom of the press and independent journalism. However, a recent court case adjudicating the ownership and management of a television channel gave reason for concern. 38. Ghana commended the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and called on Georgia to consider also ratifying its Optional Protocol. Ghana was concerned at reported attempts by the Government to influence some media outlets. 39. Greece highlighted progress in the promotion of gender equality, recent reforms in the field of the protection of persons with disabilities and progress in the fight against trafficking in persons, which remained an important challenge. 40. Honduras welcomed the adoption of the law against discrimination and the measures taken in 2014 and 2015 to protect internally displaced persons and ensure their welfare. 41. Hungary noted that the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was still lacking. It saw room for further improvement with regard to investigating reports of torture or ill-treatment and prosecuting cases that involved such treatment. Hungary regretted that corporal punishment of children was still lawful in Georgia. 42. Iceland welcomed the introduction of the national plan of action for gender equality and urged Georgia to ensure that sanctions were sufficient to discourage and prevent discrimination, and to take further steps in that regard. 43. Indonesia stated that the rights of migrant workers should be one of the priorities of the international community. It welcomed the adoption of the national strategy for the protection of human rights in Georgia and its action plan. 44. Ireland commended Georgia for hosting several visits of the special procedure mandate holders and for responding to the majority of their communications. Ireland noted ongoing concerns, including the use of pretrial detention as a preventive measure and the timeliness of trials. 45. Italy welcomed the adoption of the national strategy for the protection of human rights and its corresponding action plan, as well as the plan for the elimination of domestic violence. It expressed appreciation for the establishment of a State agency for religious issues. 46. Japan commended Georgia for the adoption of the Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination in May 2014, but noted that the participation of women in policymaking processes, as recommended during the first review cycle, had reportedly not improved. 47. Latvia valued the cooperation and openness of Georgia with the special procedure mandate holders. It regretted that those mandate holders had been unable to visit the 7